


Boyfriend for Hire

by WinterDreams



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: Alternate Universe - 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) Fusion, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Implied/Referenced Smoking, Street Racing, Underage Drinking, they're all idiots but especially Church and York
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-22 22:28:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4852925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterDreams/pseuds/WinterDreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“They’re weird as fuck,” South explains. “And Church is a grade-A douche. Which is why he’s perfect.”</p><p>When both boys frown at her, she rolls her eyes. “Everyone avoids him cuz of all these rumours and he acts all tough, but trust me, he’s not actually scary. He’s just an asshole with some tech skills. And totally the type of guy who’d date someone for money.”</p><p>OR that 10 Things I Hate About You AU which works amazingly well with the assholes that are the Red vs Blue characters</p>
            </blockquote>





	Boyfriend for Hire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [courfeyracyoutakethewatch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/courfeyracyoutakethewatch/gifts).



> Birthday gift for my amazing friend! She doesn't think there are nearly enough Chex romantic comedy AUs (of which I agree) so I did my best to remedy the situation.

Sidewinder is a grungy little town with graffiti filled alleyways, buildings with peeling paint, and dirty streets. The whole city seems to be wreathed in clouds of cigarette smoke, and all the sidewalks and roads are cracked. The police only materialize when the constant and milder crimes threatens to boil over into violent, high-profile crime territory. Some older homes half an hour by car from the downtown high school have managed to escape the grime of the rest of the town and form wholesome neighbourhoods, but they are the exception. The high school downtown is as grim as the rest of Sidewinder; an old building with no functional AC and drawings of penises covering the sign on the school’s front lawn that displays the name Armonia.  

Frankly the place doesn’t give York much hope for a spectacular school year. Especially since he and his parents moved to this new town in the middle of the second school semester. High school is horrible enough without being new to the town.

But he has no choice in the matter, as his mom is quick to remind him that morning when he tries to say he’s too sick to go to class. She doesn’t even let him finish his excuse before she’s dragging him out of bed under the threat of no technology for a month. He thinks she could have a little more sympathy, but she doesn’t allow him to wallow for more than two minutes in the car once they arrive at the school. She simply gives him the usual hug and then kicks him out of the car with a cheerful wave.

York manages to find his locker after ten minutes, and those first ten minutes do nothing to change his opinion of the place. The halls smell like mold and sweaty socks, people seem to go out of their way to slam their massive bags right in his face, and his locker refused to open for a solid five minutes despite his triple checking the combination the school gave him.

When the stubborn door finally opens, York just rests his forehead against the rusty metal for a long moment as he tries to tell himself skipping class on the very first day is not the best idea. His parents would kill him for one thing, and he does need to do semi-well in his classes. Making the teachers view him as an irresponsible student from day one isn’t going to help him in that area.

“Hey.”   

York startles as someone speaks right by his shoulder. He lifts his head and turns to see a boy his own age standing at his side with a smile.

“You’re new here, right?” the boy asks.

The boy has blond hair that’s so pale it looks bleached, and a pale face to match. There’s a piercing in one of his ears and in his lip, but his jeans have less holes in them than York’s and his purple shirt is less faded than York’s green one. The smile he offers York seems genuine enough, as does the friendliness in his voice.

“Yeah,” York says. “I’m York. Did someone send around a memo about me or something?”

“Nah, but everyone knows everyone in their grade so it’s pretty obvious when someone new gets here. I’m North.”

York blinks a little at that.

“North, like–”

“North Dakota.” North’s smile twists into a grimace a little at that. “My twin is South. A lot of the parents in this town are huge geography nerds.”

On second thought, maybe York _will_ fit in here better than he originally assumed.

“Got it.” York finally starts taking out his books from his backpack and puts some in his locker. “Still, this seems like a pretty big school to know everyone in your grade.”

North shrugs at that.

“Most of us have a bunch of people here we know from public school too so. And rumours get around really quickly here.”

“So make sure I’m charming right from the beginning?”  

North laughs a little at that and the sound gives York a bit of confidence. If everyone is this easy to get along with, he should have no problem.

North offers to show York to his next class and around the school on their lunch break. York quickly learns his assumption about everyone being as approachable as North is wrong. When his homeroom teacher asks him to come to the front of the room to give him the book they’re studying, York hears more than one whispered insult about the scar over his eye and ensuing snickers.

After years of comments and questions about the physical mark, York can keep a confident smile on his face easily enough, but he doesn’t try to speak to any of his new classmates. He heads to his seat right away with that smile pasted on his face and the novel held loosely in his hand despite the tension already starting to twist in his chest.

His first class is English, which he mostly dozes through given he read _King Lear_ at his old school last semester.

His second class is French, and he’s once more one of the last students to reach the classroom. Before he enters the room, he does a quick sweep of the place to see if he recognizes anyone from his homeroom. There’s a depressing amount of the same people, but one new person grabs all his attention the moment his gaze lands on her.

Some people sitting near the door snicker as York stumbles, but he only has thoughts for the unfamiliar girl. She sits at the front of the classroom by the window, red hair hanging straight down to her waist. Her hands rest perfectly still on the open textbook on her desk, green eyes locked on the blackboard where the teacher is writing notes.

The seat behind her is empty and York dashes to it faster than he has ever moved in a classroom before. He trips over his own feet a little bit, drawing more laughter from anyone watching, but the girl doesn’t so much as glance over.

The sound of his textbook landing on the table as he plops into the seat doesn’t draw her gaze either, and York stares at the back of her head. The white blouse she wears fits her perfectly, folds of her blue skirt falling just shy of her knees. York leans forward a little and rests his elbows on his desk, but the motion causes his pencil case to go clattering to the floor.

That causes the red head to whirl around in the time it takes for York to blink. He finds himself pinned to the spot under the force of her gaze and when he just stares awkwardly, her gaze flickers to the floor where his pencil case has fallen.

“Uh,” he begins, but she’s already turning away.

Her arm swoops down and scoops up his pencil case before holding it out to him all in one smooth motion. When she keeps looking at him expectantly, he manages to unfreeze his muscles and reach out to take the object.

“Thanks,” he tells her, and then clears his throat when it squeaks a little. “Uh, I’m York.”

He finally remembers to smile, trying to make it as dazzling as possible. The girl studies him for a long moment in silence and then offers a small smile of her own.

“Carolina,” she says, and suddenly York understands why people spend hours writing shitty, romantic poetry. If she talks to him for too long, he’s pretty sure he’s going to spend the rest of the class filling his notebook with clichéd poetry.

Luckily for his dignity, the teacher starts the class only a moment later and Carolina turns her gaze back to the front of the room without another word to York.

“I’m in love!” York declares when he meets North on the back lawn for lunch.

The interior of the school itself and its books might be crap, but the school seems to have no qualms about spending money on the sports facilities and exterior grounds. There’s a paved courtyard stretching out from the back wall of the school with several stone tables and benches scattered across its surface and patches of grass interspersed throughout. This leads to a slope the school has cut stone bleachers into, and the football field and track lies at bottom of the hill.

North gives York a bewildered look as they move through the crowds of students trying to find a place to sit. The sun beats down on their necks and York wonders how long it will take for him to get used to having no snow and humid temperatures in March.

“You move fast,” North comments.

He spots a free space near the end of the courtyard and starts to head over with York in tow. Halfway there, York suddenly grabs North’s arm and jerks him to a halt.

“There,” York hisses, gaze snagging on Carolina where she stands by a stone bench with the biggest teenager he has ever seen. “The redhead over there. Carolina.”

“ _Carolina_?” North repeats, his voice going high in horror.

York drags his stare away from Carolina at that, dreamy smile fading a little as North looks at him in disbelief.

“What’s wrong with that?” York asks, tone growing defensive.

North grips his elbow and starts to drag York to the edge of the courtyard, York quickly glancing over his shoulder to see if Carolina notices them. She continues to speak with her friend instead, and York hopes he’s right in assuming the guy is just a friend.

“You can’t like Carolina,” North tells York when they’re standing on the edge where pavement meets grass before the hill.

York frowns at him.

“Why the hell not?”

“Because you just–nobody–look, there’s a reason she’s called the Ice Queen, okay?”

“The Ice Queen?” York repeats, his turn to be disbelieving now. North nods vigorously.

“She doesn’t care about people. Like, she’s super respectful and polite to teachers and they like her well enough and she’s not _mean_ to people, but she doesn’t care about them. The only one she kinda cares about is her friend, Maine.”

“How can you say that?” York demands. He glances over at Carolina just in time to see her grinning at something Maine says. “Just _look_ at her, she loves so deeply!”

North stares at York like he’s a new species he’s discovered that is acting with absolutely no discernable logic. Before York can argue further, North shakes his head and switches to another strand of rebuttal.

“Whatever. Even if you _were_ right, it doesn’t matter cuz she doesn’t date.”

“Just cuz she’s never–”

“No, York,” North interrupts. “She doesn’t. Date. Ever. Not because she doesn’t want to or whatever, she’s literally not allowed to date. Her dad’s like a midwife or something so she’s not allowed to date until her older sister does.”

Out of all the reasons York expected to hear, that one wasn’t even on the list. He gapes at North, then gapes at Carolina, then turns back to North to gape some more.

“So, we just find her sister someone to date?” York suggests, and North looks like he’s ready to roll down the hill in order to escape York’s crush.

An arm suddenly wraps around North’s shoulders before he can get a word out, and York takes a startled step back as a girl materializes out of nowhere.

“Who’s getting who a date?” she asks, looking between the two of them expectantly. Her gaze settles on North who sighs. “Please tell me it’s you.”

North snorts at that and shakes his head. The girl’s expression shifts to disappointment, but the glee returns the second her attention turns to York. “Who’s the noob?”

“South, this is York,” North introduces. “York, this is my twin sister, South.”

“Hey,” York gets out, South simply studying him.

Her face and hair are as pale as North’s, but the tips of her hair have been dyed purple. There are lot more piercings in both her ears than in North’s, and her silver nose stud flashes in the sunlight. She’s wearing a light purple tank top underneath a leather jacket and her jeans are so ripped up, York is surprised she’s still allowed to wear them on school grounds.

“York wants to date Carolina,” North explains, and South’s mouth parts a little in shock.

“You want to date the fucking Ice Queen?”

“Stop calling her that!” York says angrily, voice edging into shouting territory.

A couple of people nearby look over, but Carolina doesn’t and North quickly raises his hands in a placating gesture. South simply releases North so she can cross her arms over her chest with an unimpressed expression.

“I told him it wouldn’t work cuz of that rule her dad has,” North tells South. South nods like the whole thing makes perfect sense and York wonders how long this rule has been in effect.

“So get her sister a date,” York says again, and then frowns. “Who is her sister anyways?”

“Get that bitch a date?” South says, and then laughs a little. “Oh man, you really are a noob.”

“It would work,” North replies before York can snap at South, “If her sister had any interest in dating. But Tex hates everyone, and everyone is terrified of her.”

“Tex?” York perks up at the new piece of information. “Is that her sister? Which one is she?”

North sighs, but does a quick sweep of the crowd for York’s sake. A moment later, he nudges York and nods toward two girls standing by the doors of the school. One wears her brown hair in a ponytail with the sides of her head shaved, tanned jacket covering a black shirt with scrawling, white script across the chest despite the heat. The other girl lets her blonde hair hang loose to her waist much as Carolina does with her red hair. She wears a black tank top and ripped jeans, pretty like a magazine model and holding herself with an unwavering confidence York can spot even from across the lawn.

“The blonde one,” North replies. York studies the girl closer as she nods at something her friend says. “The other one is her friend, CT.”

“Okay,” York says. “She doesn’t look that bad.”

“Didn’t your mom ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover?” North asks. “I told you, she doesn’t want to date her and no one would dare. She once kicked a guy so hard in his crotch, he had to go to the hospital.”

“She can bench lift more than any guy in the school except maybe Maine,” South adds grudgingly, her gaze locked on the two girls.

“She once broke her own teammate’s leg in a soccer practice.”

“She once set the chemistry lab on fire and got off scot-free.”

“She threw the school counsellor’s name plate through his window once.”

“But,” South says, and her deviation from the previous pattern has both North and York’s gazes jerking to her thoughtful face, “there is one way someone might date her.”

“How?” both boys respond, and South grins.

“Pay them.”  

“Who the hell would accept that deal?” North demands as York considers the idea.

Given how desperately he needs money now that he has to find a new job and is relying on the meager left-overs in his chequing account, he can see the appeal. “Money doesn’t change who Tex is.”

South turns her gaze on the students scattered across the property. She moves her attention past the jocks tossing footballs to each other over the heads of shrieking passerbys, past the band kids lounging on the grass, and past the druggies sprawled on the ground. Past the throngs of laughing girls, past the skaters jumping over benches on their boards, and past the emos sitting in the shade of the lone tree brushing the school’s walls with its branches.

Her gaze finally settles on a group of three boys sitting on one of the tables furthest from the rest of the crowds of students, and she raises a deliberate hand to point at them.

“Him,” she says, not a single note of hesitation in her voice.

North and York turn to look where she has singled out a scowling boy with pale skin, unrulyblack hair, and square glasses sliding down his nose. The sun above seems to make no difference to him as he wears a blue hoodie with dark jeans, disinterested in the rest of the students shouting and laughing a few feet away. The boy sits on the bench beside a smiling blond, a black kid with dreadlocks lounging on the table at their backs.

“Really?” North asks his twin as York continues to study the three boys who look to be his own age. “You’re gonna ask one of the Blues?”

“What’s a Blue?” York questions, frowning at the twins. South appears triumphant while North looks skeptical.

“Those three guys over there–Tucker, Caboose, and Church–call themselves the Blues.” North points at each of the boys at their name for York’s sake. “Those guys at the table furthest behind us are the Reds.”

“Are they like some sort of gang?”

South bursts into laughter at that and even North seems amused, though he shakes his head.

“Nah. Apparently in public school their gym teachers divided them into colour coded teams and they’ve stuck with it ever since.”

“They’re weird as fuck,” South explains. “And Church is a grade-A douche. Which is why he’s perfect.”

When both boys frown at her, she rolls her eyes. “Everyone avoids him cuz of all these rumours and he acts all tough, but trust me, he’s not actually scary. He’s just an asshole with _some_ tech skills. And totally the type of guy who’d date someone for money.”

“Awesome!” York says, and then remembers one key point. “Uh, except, I don’t really have any money.”

“I can shell out some cash,” South replies instantly. York’s jaw drops, but North just rolls his eyes.

“Holy shit, really?”

“She just wants to date CT,” North tells York, something sympathetic in his gaze even as he shakes his head at his twin. “I don’t see how this helps.”

“If her best friend actually starts dating, she won’t feel bad about doing it.”

“Wait, shaved head girl?” York clarifies. “You’re into her?”

“Well duh. Did you _see_ her?”

“There’s other reasons to date someone, South,” North says dryly. “Cuz they’re smart, for one thing.”

“She’s smarter than you, brother mine,” South replies, offering North a smirk and leaning into his personal space. “Or did you forget about her totally owning you in that class debate last week?”

York looks between the twins as they break into a bout of bickering and can’t decide if he’s made the best or worst decision in becoming friends with the Dakota twins. If it gets him a date with Carolina while keeping all his limbs intact in the process, he’ll definitely go with the best.

“Where are you even getting the money?” North asks as York draws their attention back to the matter at hand and South pulls out her wallet.

South shrugs.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Tell me right now, South.”

The twins look ready to start fighting for real, both of them glaring at each other as tension crackles through atmosphere when a second ago there’d been none. York quickly intervenes before he witnesses what he is sure to be a truly epic display of sibling quarrels. ****

“Dude, please let it go,” York begs. “Just once. For me. For the cause.”

North sighs, but relents after one last glare at the now smug South. Without another word, South makes a beeline for the Blues with North and York at her heels. Most kids get out of the way the second they see South, and if they don’t go immediately at a glimpse of her, they scramble away once they realize she will plough right through them.

South comes to a halt directly in front of Church and all three teenagers look up. Tucker gives them a curious look, Caboose grins cheerfully, and Church scowls at her.

“Psycho,” he greets her, and then turns his attention back to the phone in his hands.

“Prick,” South shoots back calmly. “I got a deal for you.”

“Not interested.”

“I’ll pay you to date Tex.”

“I do not know who that is,” Caboose says even though the deal isn’t for him. Tucker sighs, but grabs his friend’s large head and turns it so he’s facing Tex and CT who still stand by the school’s doors.

“That blonde chick over there beside the girl with the shaved sides.”

“Oh!”

“She’s pretty hot,” Tucker comments, glancing down at Church.

“She’s can also rip out the spleen of anyone who fucks with her,” Church replies, finally looking up again at the trio in front of him. His gaze flickers to Tex briefly, and York catches the flash of consideration in his eyes as Church seems to agree with Tucker’s comment. “Or so everyone says.”

“Aw, what’s wrong, Church?” South asks, not bothering to tone down any of the smugness in her voice. “You scared? I thought you were supposed to be Mr. Tough Guy, not the biggest wuss I’ve ever met.”

“And I thought you were a psychotic bitch–oh wait, I was right.”

North shifts slightly at that, and York places a hand on his shoulder to keep him from lashing out. But South just offers Church a grin that York is pretty sure he’s seen on the faces of monsters in his nightmares.

“Fine, guess I’ll just have to go tell the Reds it’s their show.”

“You’re asking the _Reds_?” Church asks, and that statements has all of the Blues staring hard at South.

“There’s no fucking way they’d agree to that,” Tucker insists.

“Course they did, all I had to do was promise Grif I’d buy him lunch three times a week till prom.”

South shakes her head. “Gotta say, even _I_ didn’t think he would agree to something you won’t, but I guess you’re even more of a little bitch than I knew.”

She turns to go away, and York tries to model her confidence even though he has no idea what she’s planning or if it will work. On her other side North acts perfectly calm, clearly understanding his sister’s plan from the moment she mentioned the Reds.

“Dude,” they hear Tucker hiss behind them. “You know he’s gonna rub it in my face the whole bus ride home for the rest of the year.”

“I’m not sacrificing my balls just because you can’t deal with Grif.”

“You were ready to jump off the bus last time you were with us!”

“If you have lots of money, you could buy a dog!” Caboose cuts in as South takes another deliberate step away from the Blues. York wonders if Caboose has only just clued into what South said about money or if he’s been stuck on that fact this entire time. “Or two! Oh my god, you could buy the entire pet store!”

“Shut the fuck up, Caboose!”

“You _do_ need the money,” Tucker points out.

They get another couple few feet, South’s gaze locking on the Reds even though York doesn’t think she’ll actually ask them. A smirk stretches across her face when Church calls her name and they all come to a halt. Church doesn’t move from his seat but South doesn’t seem to mind having to walk over now that she knows she’s won.

“How much are you paying?” Church asks. His glances at Tex once more before the girl and CT head inside the school.

“Twenty bucks per date,” South replies, and Church snorts.

“That’s barely enough to cover one person at a movie if she wants popcorn. And she definitely seems the type who expects me to spend whatever cash I got.”

South crosses her arms over her chest and Church leans back against the table’s edge. “Fifty.”

“Thirty,” South says flatly, and the expression on her face promises the violence Tex is rumoured to commit if Church tries going higher.

“Forty,” Church counters. “I need to make a fucking profit, not just spend all this cash on the fake dates.”

South considers this and York holds his breath as North gives his twin a suspicious look. The bell signalling the start of class in five minutes rings, but none of them move.

“Alright,” South finally agrees. “Forty per _date_. I ain’t paying you for shitty flirting.”

Church grins at that.

“Don’t worry, I’m fucking smooth.”

Tucker snorts at that but doesn’t comment when South and Church shake hands. It’s more a contest to see who can grip the other’s hand harder, and Church can’t hide his wince completely when South releases his hand.

York has decided becoming friends with the Dakotas is definitely the best decision he’s made in a long time.

***

When Church asks why they want him to date Tex, York tells him the reasons before he can consider if it’s a good idea or the others can stop him. Church seems to think it’s a lame idea but he doesn’t back out of the deal. He does ask how they can guarantee the worth of the plan if York hasn’t even gotten Carolina to like him yet, but York waves away his concerns within seconds.

York walks into French class the next day feeling much more confident about the new school and his situation. Everyone appears doubtful of York’s ability to get Carolina to actually like him even if North offered him a thumbs up before heading to his own classes that morning, but York doesn’t have any doubts.

He heads to his seat straight away with a large smile despite the way his heart starts pounding at the sight of Carolina. She’s wearing a blue halter top this time with a black skirt and just like the day before, she stares straight ahead at the blackboard. When York slides into the seat behind her, he takes a moment to just gaze at the back of her head and gather his thoughts. Then he reaches out and taps her shoulder.

“Hey,” he says when she whirls around. He offers her the biggest smile he can despite the way her green eyes narrow at him.

“Hi,” she replies after a moment. She tilts her head a little and then seems to believe the genuineness of his smile, because her shoulders relax a fraction.

“I’m–”

“York,” she interrupts. “The new kid. I remember.”

“Yeah! That’s me, noob as fuck.”

Her lips twitch at that, and York’s grin only widens.

“You did seem kinda lost,” Carolina agrees, and York wonders why everyone was so negative the other day when talking to her is so easy. “Also clumsy.”

“I promise I’m not normally that uncoordinated,” York says, and leans toward her a little. Her words don’t feel like an insult, they sound like the teasing from a long-time friend. “Your school just has a really uneven ground.”

“Uneven ground?” Carolina repeats, amusement clear in her voice. York nods vigorously at her reaction.

“Yeah, like did they not bother flattening the place before they put up this place? Did they build it on a clump of hills or something?”

“Well, it did used to be really hilly which made all the battles here super bloody,” Carolina tells him, and York blinks.

“Battles?”

“Sure. During the civil war? This place was a hotspot for a couple months–that’s why there’s that giant statute in the public park near us.”

“Huh,” York says, and studies Carolina even closer. “Do you know a lot of history?”

She nods, placing one perfectly manicured hand on the back of her chair. “That’s pretty cool!”

“You think?” she asks, and he bobs his head up and down quickly.

“Totally! You gotta know your history to uh, avoid the same mistakes, right?”

“Something like that,” Carolina says, and finally offers him a smile though it turns a little brittle in the next second. “My mom really loved it and my dad’s kinda obsessed with it. They met at a war exhibit at a museum.”

“Oh that’s cool,” York replies, and he means it. “My parents met at a bar. A lot sketchier.”

“A little bit,” Carolina agrees.

The classroom is starting to fill up, the voices of all the students’ crashing on their shoulders. Their teacher finally shows up, dropping his briefcase on the desk but not yet calling everyone’s attention. Carolina begins to turn around but York isn’t ready to give up talking to her yet, so he quickly speaks up again.

“Hey, since I’m new here and you know so much about the town, any cool places you think I should visit?”

She twists back around slightly at that, but a tension York doesn’t understand tightens her shoulders. When he just keeps gazing at her, some of his confusion seeping into his expression at her stony silence, she relaxes again.

“Oh,” she responds, and then gives herself a mental shake. “Yeah. There’s the cliffs right at the edge of town, diving off them is really fun but not right now. The undertow would kill you, but they’re nice to walk along if you want to get away from everyone and there’s still sailing right now. Then there’s the paintball place at the edge of the fairgrounds, the war memorial in the park, and Vic’s indoor rock climbing. Omega Records downtown is a good place for music and the diner on Valhalla Crescent is really chill.”

The sudden influx of information makes York a bit dizzy, but he strives to commit all those places to memory. Their teacher calls for class to start a second later, but York smiles and says,

“Cool, thanks. I’ll definitely let you know what I think of them on Monday.”

Carolina doesn’t reply when they spot the teacher glaring at them, just turns back around and York grins at her back. If all of their conversations go this well, then York should have no problem asking her on a date.

Now he just needs Church to hold up his end of the deal.

***

If Tucker tells Church they should practice what Church says to Tex one more time, Church is going to murder him. Given he and Caboose are the closest things Church has to best friends, he would rather not go through with that plan, but it’s getting pretty fucking hard to resist. 

“This really doesn’t need this much fucking thought, Tucker,” Church snaps at the teen. 

They’re chilling outside Omega Records where they saw Tex duck into five minutes ago. It’s still early on a Saturday so there’s hardly any other students out yet and Church clutches an energy drink in his hands. He didn’t want to get up so early, but when Tucker texted him about overhearing Tex’s plans to go to the store at such godforsaken hours on Saturday, he couldn’t give up the opportunity. Even if it’s still hours before noon and he’s already starting to regret agreeing to this deal.

 “You’re planning on trying to get a date with a crazy chick you’ve thought is super hot since grade nine,” Tucker says, leaning against the glass window of the store. “Pretty sure this needs more thought than any homework we’ve ever done.” 

“ _You_ don’t do your homework,” Church reminds him. 

“I do it enough to pass, just like you.” 

“We have homework?” Caboose asks, alarm causing him to straighten where he sits on the curb of the road with an ice cream cone in hand. 

“We have homework like every day, Caboose. We’ve been over this.” 

“Oh.” 

“We’ll do homework _after_ I get this chick to date me,” Church tells him, and Tucker snorts. 

“Guess we’re never doing homework again then.” 

Church kicks Tucker in the shins for that and with one last glare at the cursing teenager, heads inside the store. 

The store is and always has been a cluttered mess. Towering shelves crammed with CDs and movies are packed so tight together, two people can barely fit in one aisle at a time. There’s stacks upon stacks of old records at the far back of the room, as well as a couple of record players for sale. On the second floor, some guitars and other stringed instruments sit out on display while electronics are kept safe behind glass cases. A spiraling, black staircase leads to that floor, and an iron railingwinds its way along the edge of the second floor. Some low key jazz crackles over the store’s speakers as Church makes his way through the endless shelves. 

He can’t hear anyone speaking at the moment, the sales clerk tucked behind the cash register reading a book. He frowns and takes a second glance as he notices the person behind the counter is not a man but Donut. Making a mental note not to buy anything, Church continues his survey of the first floor. Church only runs into two other people on the first floor, and neither of them are Tex. When he glances up at the railing of the second floor, he catches a glimpse of blonde hair before the figure ducks behind one of the few shelves up there.   

Church hurries toward the stairs, Tex reappearing again to study the glass cases. She doesn’t turn when Church reaches the landing and when he first clears his throat, she doesn’t spare him a glance. 

“Hey,” he says, and that has her twisting slightly. When he doesn’t move away even after she just stares at him coldly, she turns fully to face him. 

She’s wearing combat boots and jeans despite the weather, her moss green tank top the only sign that she knows it’s hot outside. When she crosses her arms over her chest, the muscles that tense are clear signs of a dedicated and daily workout. The rest of her gives off the unassuming appearance of any other slim, blonde chick, but Church is willing to bet she has solid abs underneath her shirt. And he knows she can probably leg press him after all the soccer and running she does for the school.

 She would be the girl everyone at school ogles at if not for the hard stare she offers him and the danger rolling off her in waves. She holds herself with poise, but not in the way that draws assholes and nice guys alike to her. Her posture promises violence to anyone who tries to get the better of her, and she oozes a confidence that says she can take down those three times her size without breaking a sweat. 

On second thought, maybe Church should have spent more time preparing with Tucker outside. It’s been two years since he flirted with a normal girl let alone one like Tex. 

“So I was thinking–” Church begins, and Tex cuts him off in seconds. 

“No.” 

He stares at her and she gazes right back with an impassive expression. 

“You didn’t even listen to my offer!” 

“Still no." 

“Even if it’s for the best night of your life?” 

He offers her his best charming smile, but she only snorts. 

“You mean the worst?” 

Before Church can splutter out more words, she turns away dismissively and Church glares at her back. He takes a deep breath, reminding himself of the money promised and all the rumours about Tex. He knew in some sense she isn’t the type to accept a date offer right away so he’ll just have to warm her up. Talk to her for a bit first and make her like him. 

“Alright, then how ‘bout we talk music?” Church says. “We _are_ in a music store together.” 

“Yeah. I’m here to buy that music, not talk to assholes. Besides, we like different music.” 

“How would you know what type of music I like?” Church shoots back. 

Tex cocks her head slightly and then steps away from the display so quickly, Church nearly falls right on his ass in his attempt to keep her from slamming into him. She spins on her heel to face him and crosses her arms once more as she gives him another quick look-over. 

“You listen to classic rock?” Tex asks, no attempt made to hide her skepticism. 

“Yeah I–” His gaze snags on the CD in her hand and the singer’s name. “Lily Allen isn’t classic rock?” 

“You don’t sound sure,” Tex smirks, and Church forces himself to stand as straight as he can. 

“She isn’t.” 

“Nope.” Church’s confusion must still be on his face because Tex rolls her eyes. “I know it’s shocking, but people can actually like more than one genre.”

“I know it’s shocking,” Church mimics her, blood boiling despite the limited amount of time they’ve been snapping at each other. “But your comebacks aren’t actually that witty.” 

“Ooh, bringing out the big words now?” 

“Cuz ‘witty’ is such a big word.” 

“For you and half the school it is.” 

He feels a scowl slashing across his face and he can’t even consider trying to subdue the expression even though he’s supposed to be charming her. 

“If I was trying to sound like a pretentious douchebag like you, I’d use something like epigrammatic, not witty.” 

“Careful, you don’t want to use all the big ones you know in only one conversation. What on earth will you use to impress me next time we talk?” 

She covers her mouth with her hand briefly as mock shock crosses her face. When she lowers her hand, a smirk dripping with derision waits for him. “Oh wait, there is no next time. Now fuck off.” 

When he doesn’t move, she shoves his shoulder to get by him. That has him unfreezing even as both anger and a grudging respect for her ability to provide endless snark pounds through him. He follows her down the stairs as she heads for the cashier to pay for her CD. 

“You still buy CDs?” Church asks as he lounges at her side while she pays. She doesn’t look at him and he doesn’t move away, not yet ready to give up for the day. 

“Something wrong with that?” Tex replies as Donut places the CD in a bag. 

Church shrugs. 

“Just not what I expected.” 

“Here’s a helpful tip, Church,” she says, and he startles a little at the easy use of his name. “A lot of people aren’t gonna fit your expectations.” 

Donut hands her the bag and Tex finally glances at Church once she has the bag in hand. She places one hand on her hip and pauses for the briefest of seconds to deliver one final remark. “Then again, some people really are as shitty as you expect.” 

Church hears Donut mutter a low ‘burned, dude’ at that, Tex stalking away as Church gapes at her back. He watches Tucker and Caboose scurry back and out of her way as she throws open the door, Tucker offering Church a mocking thumbs up through the window. Church gives him the middle finger in return as he walks to the door and then exits the store. 

“Looks like it went well,” Tucker comments, and Church wants to punch him for his cheer. 

Instead he watches Tex move to the battered red car sitting in the parking lot before a douchebag from their school named Felix stops her at the door. They watch him lean on her car and Tex puts up with him for ten seconds before getting rid of him. 

“Holy shit,” Tucker exclaims as Tex hooks her foot around Felix’s ankle while simultaneously punching him square in the face.

 The guy goes down without a sound, curling into the fetal position on the ground and whimpering as he clutches his nose. Despite the verbal beat down Church just suffered at her hands, laughter bursts from him. Tex glances over at him at the noise and Caboose looks confused, but Church can’t stop laughing as Tucker grins. 

For the briefest of moments, Church gets the smallest glimpse of Tex’s smile. Then she’s sliding into her car and driving away, but Church’s determination to win her over has already been rejuvenated. 

*** 

Things do not get any easier for Church despite his best and endless efforts.

He starts going to English class regularly despite the fact that it’s the first class of the morning, because it’s the only one he has with Tex. She doesn’t say much during the class itself, but when she does speak, she offers the most intelligent albeit snarkiest comments Church hears all day. The teacher only appreciates the comments half the time, but the glimpse Church catches of the mark of one of her essays has him feeling incredibly self-conscious about his own C-grade.

Tex’s spoken commentary might be enough to keep Church awake, but trying to talk to her after class only proves one frustrating event after another. When he tries to even say good morning, she slams right into him and out the door. When he tries to say something relevant about the class, she raises a single eyebrow at him and then sidesteps around him out the door. When he tries to initiate a conversation by asking about _Mad Max_ since she has a button on her bag, she suggests they re-enact the movie.

“I’ll be Furiosa, you be Max, now just wait while I go get my wrench,” Tex says, and Church quickly backs off.

When Church and Tucker try watching her soccer practice after school, she kicks several balls right at them while telling her coach she’s just having an off-day. Church tries to grab a moment to talk to her after the practice, and her response to his less than smooth greeting is,

“Why are you trying to talk to me when you’re obviously incapable of getting out more than three intelligent words around me?”

That leaves him red in the face and Tucker laughing behind him, but Church continues to try.

He manages to catch Connie at one point and learn Tex loves playing Halo. Tex just stares at him silently until he can feel all of his words slowly shrivel up and die when he tries mentioning it to her at that lunch time, though. Even worse, when he gets home and plays online that night, there’s one user who spends all night kicking everyone’s asses and he’s pretty sure it’s Tex. The username sounds like some classic rock reference but the player’s mic stays muted the whole game. The player stays on as long as Church, which is something not even Tucker does given Church’s three am bedtime and Tucker’s insistence on getting at least six hours of sleep.

The next day he nearly falls asleep in English class again, but he still leaps out of his chair the moment Tex starts to leave the class. She actually exchanges a few words with him, though it’s just them trading insults by the time they reach her next class. Like every time before, Tex gets the last word.

“Why is anyone scared to go near you–oh wait, it’s cuz you’re so _goddamn_ annoying,” Tex says, and then walks into her classroom. Church blinks after her and feels a spark of genuine hurt before he scowls and stalks away.

Church spends two evenings immersing himself in classic rock and finds he actually enjoys a lot of the songs. He didn’t have anything against the genre in the first place, but he doesn’t listen to a lot of music in general. Those nights where he listens to classic rock finds the notes reverberating off his walls as he does his homework and his siblings sneak into his room to shriek and dance with him to the energetic songs.

Tex let’s slip one recommendation when he starts rambling about the last band he listened to the night before, and then she’s back to flipping him off and he’s back to calling her an insane bitch.

Which is probably not the best strategy to winning a date off her, but he also doesn’t think the name-calling is making things go any worse. He’s actually pretty sure he’s caught a glimpse of grudging amusement in her eyes and a small smirk in response to a couple of his comments. Also a lot of eye rolling, but that doesn’t necessarily equate her not wanting to go out with him.

That worst part about all of it, though, is not that she’s the most stubborn person Church has ever met or that he still can’t get her to agree to a date. The worst part is that throughout all of his attempts, he’s finding out the two of them share a lot of common interests that he thinks they could have intense conversations about. Infuriating and loud conversations, but at least he would actually give a shit about what she has to say, which is more than he can say for most of his classmates.

He might not be the most physically active person alive, but he thinks he could go along with some of Tex’s more active hobbies. And he would enjoy the times she clearly likes staying up all night engaged with a video game, or blasting rock music until the walls of her room are shaking, or fixated on a movie filled with explosions and social commentary.

She might be a rotten bitch just like everyone at the school claims she is, but she is also intelligent and confident and sarcastic and Church has to respect her ability to verbally tear everyone she encounters in two. And Church saw her get as protective of CT the other day as he gets over the bratty siblings he loves.

Church doesn’t hate Tex like he should, and that might be the most frustrating part about the mess he’s found himself in.

Which is why Thursday finds him ready to bang his head against the table in computer class repeatedly.

“Hey there!” York’s cheerful voice doesn’t make Church feel any better. It makes him want to never lift his head off the desk again, and he opens his eyes when York claps him on the shoulder.

“You’re not even in this class,” Church says, still pressing his forehead against the edge of the desk.

“Teacher’s not here and I wanted to talk to you.”

Church finally lifts his head. The teacher for this class is notorious for not showing up half the time and being stoned when he is there. Church really doesn’t understand how the guy hasn’t been fired yet, but since the situation enables him to work on whatever self-projects he wants and the dude does give them pretty helpful notes once and awhile, he’s not complaining. The other teenagers in the class basically treat the class like a spare.

“How go things with Carolina?” Church asks before York can question him about Tex. The other teenager immediately brightens at the girl’s name and the sappy adoration on his face makes Church want to gag a little.

“Great!” York says, and Church can’t tell if they are honestly going well or if York is just lying to himself. “She’s so smart and dedicated and funny and beautiful and we’ve started studying together which is–”

“Super sexy,” Church interrupts, and York just waves away his sarcasm. He leans forward where he sits in the chair he’s pulled up beside Church’s desk, the computer screen glaring at both of them.

“It’s a start! We went to the cliffs the other day after school before she had to go home and I told her we should go cliff diving together when the water’s better cuz she’s also super into cool shit like that, and I’m wondering if maybe I should go for it and ask her on an actual date.”

York glances around the classroom and lowers his voice before speaking again. “Have you got Tex to agree to a date yet?”

“No,” Church admits, and hastily adds, “But I’m getting close. So you know, go ahead and ask your dream girl out.”

“You think?” Church doesn’t understand why York has gone from gushing and confident to extremely uncertain but he doesn’t have the patience for it.

“York,” Church says, grabbing onto York’s wrist and enunciating his next words very clearly. “Grow. Some. Balls.”

“Please.” Both of them startle at the sound of South’s loud voice suddenly cutting through the air. They twist in their seats as the girl marches into the room without sparing a single look for any of the other classmates, half of whom quickly stare intently at their own work the moment they recognize her. “Like that would help either of you.”

She grabs a chair, drags it across the floor, and then plops into it once she’s placed it between Church and York. At the head of the triangle they form, she crosses her legs and arms as she studies each of them in turn. Church has gone to school with her long enough to at least be able to stand his ground against her stare and simply slouch further in his chair, but York is instantly at attention.

“I, on the other hand,” South continues. “Am fucking amazing and have gotten you some excellent information to help your poor miserable souls.”

“Really?” York asks eagerly at the same time Church snaps,

“And who caused my misery exactly?”

“You agreed to the deal,” South reminds him. “First off, CT told me Tex hates smokers like you, so use that info and actually do something with Tex.”

South probably expects Church to curse or complain, but only relief swoops through him. For once, something about this entire situation will be easy.

“Done,” he tells South. “She hasn’t even seen me near the smoking pit so I don’t see how that’s super helpful news.”

“That was the warm-up. The big news is North and I convinced Wash to throw a party at his place next Saturday. Perfect place for a date and lots of kissing.”

“Perfect place for drunk puking and headaches you mean,” Church says, though York appears excited enough by the idea. “Tex won’t want to go.”

“Carolina will,” York says confidently. He turns a pleading gaze on Church. “So you gotta convince Tex, okay?”

“A little bluebird told me that’s going horribly,” South says, smirk plastered on her face. Church glares and wants to demand who the fuck told her that when Caboose has no idea what’s really going on with Tex and Tucker would never sell him out.

On second thought.

“Fucking Tucker,” Church grumbles, but he can’t blame his friend for caving if South came at him alone with murder in her eyes.

“Maybe Tex will have fun,” York offers, and he shakes his head when the others once more stare at him. “You guys are way too pessimistic about this.”

“No, I’m being realistic,” Church shoots back. “But whatever, I’ll convince her to go to this party with me so you can go with Carolina. Happy?”

“Just remember, you don’t get paid until you actually get her to date,” South reminds him.

“Yeah yeah,” Church says.

He turns back to his computer, done with the conversation and them. They leave him alone after a moment and Church tries to come up with a solid plan, but he just stares blankly at his computer screen for the rest of the period instead.

***

“Date someone.” 

Tex looks up from her laptop at the sound of Carolina’s voice. Her younger sister stands in the doorway of Tex’s bedroom, glaring at Tex where she lounges on her black comforter with her laptop resting on her legs. Tex raises an eyebrow at Carolina as she continues to stand in the doorway with her hands on her hips. 

“Nice to see you too, sis,” Tex replies, making Carolina scowl. “I had a lovely day at school, even got a hat trick in soccer. How was your day?” 

“Date someone,” Carolina just repeats. 

Her gaze stays firmly locked on Tex, not sparing any attention for the band posters plastered on the dark blue walls or the cluttered desk shoved underneath the window across the room from the doorway. 

“No.” 

Tex turns her gaze back to her laptop as she feels Carolina glaring at her.

“Texas.” 

“Carolina,” Tex mimics, and looks up again at her sister’s angry expression. 

“Why can’t you just act like a normal human being for once in your life?” Carolina demands, and Tex snorts. 

“Cuz you’re so normal.” She leans back against her pillow, already tired with this conversation and her inability to do anything right by Carolina. “I thought you were done with wanting to date anyways. Gonna focus on your studies cuz everyone at school is a dickhead.” 

“I was angry,” Carolina replies. “I changed my mind. Now date someone.” 

“Did you make a list for me and everything?” 

“Why do you hate me?” Carolina snaps, and Tex winces a little at that even as Carolina’s rage triggers her own anger in defense. 

“Texas!” Their dad’s loud voice cuts off Tex’s retort and both girls turn their attention to him when he appears at Carolina’s shoulder. He’s wearing the large grey t-shirt and sweatpants he always does after a day of work before cooking supper. There’s an envelope in his hand and before he can get out another word, Tex scrambles off the bed and snatches the envelope. 

She moves a few feet away from her puzzled dad and frustrated sister, pacing in front of the small TV all her consoles are hooked up to. After letting her gaze linger on the logo for Blood Gulch University on the front of the envelope for a few seconds, she rips it open. Silence pervades the room as Tex tears out the letter and quickly scans the words. 

“Ha!” she shouts, and grins at both her family members even though neither one of them has a clue as to what’s going on. “I got in! I got into Blood Gulch!” 

“Wow, that’s so great,” Carolina says sarcastically as their dad steps into the room. Tex reads over the letter once more, this time paying more attention to each individual sentence. “Can we get back to the fact that you’re being a total bitch for no reason?” 

“I thought you were applying to the university here in town,” their dad says with a frown. “Not the one six hours away.” 

“I applied to both. But Blood Gulch has a way better rehabilitation sciences program so I’m going there.” 

“Oh are you?” His eyebrow arches at her confident tone and she juts out her chin defiantly as she meets his gaze directly. 

“Yes, Dad, I am. Just cuz Mom never came back doesn’t mean I’ll disappear if I go away for a bit.” 

It’s a low blow bringing up Allison, she knows, but she’s also sick of being stuck in Sidewinder. She’s sick of her dad looking at her and seeing the wife who ran out on them, her last words not a goodbye but Leonard’s name. She’s sick of everyone in the town defining her as they see fit and she won’t be able to escape them if she goes to the closest university. 

But if she goes to Blood Gulch she has a chance to finally get away from all of it and simply be whoever the fuck she wants without her dad and all the douchebags at school constantly glancing over her shoulder.   

“Seriously, what is your _problem_?” Carolina demands as their father goes still at Tex’s comment. Before anyone can say something, Carolina just shakes her head and turns to their dad to plead her case. “Dad, _please_ change your dumb dating rule.” 

He blinks and looks at her. Tex just snorts and heads over to her wooden dresser to put away the new laundry spilling from its surface while her sister and dad argue. 

“The fact that you want me to change it means it’s even more necessary now.” 

“But Dad, she’s a freak! She’s never gonna date anyone!” 

“Fine by me.” 

“Dad!” Carolina’s doing her best to keep that petulant tones from her voice, but she can’t keep them from slipping in. Tex picks up a t-shirt from the brown carpet and spares a glance for them. “I’m sixteen! That’s old enough to date.” 

“Your sister’s seventeen and she’s not dating,” their dad says calmly, and Tex watches Carolina barely stop herself from stomping her foot in frustration. 

“But I’m not her!” 

“I’m not changing the rule, Carolina. And that’s all I have left to say about it.” 

Carolina glares at both of them and then stomps away with a curse about how they’re both ruining her life. Silence settles over Tex’s room and she keeps putting away her clothes until her dad speaks again. 

“There’s nobody you want to date right now, is there, Texas?” 

Tex glances over at him and forces herself not to let her attention flicker to her Xbox. She can’t deny how hilarious playing Halo against Church had been the other night, especially when he didn’t know it was her. She’s never heard anyone swear so loudly and creatively at the smallest things, nor seen someone die so often from sheer bad luck. 

It’s starting to become funny how easy he is to mess with even if he’s better than most of the guys at their school at keeping up with her barbs. They share some similar interests too, but so far he still seems like a typical asshole. Not worth spending time thinking about let alone dating. 

“No,” she tells her dad, and he leaves her alone with a nod and promise they’ll talk more about the university issue later that night.

 ***

 Tucker drags Church to a motorcycle race Saturday night instead of letting Church mope about his lack of success with Tex at home. 

“I wasn’t moping,” Church insists as they make their way to the industrial section of town around ten thirty at night. “I was planning.” 

“Taking breaks is good for inspiration,” Tucker replies, hands shoved into his jean pockets.

 It’s just the two of them at that point, agreeing that the best thing for Caboose is to stay at home and not get involved in anything illegal. The kid won’t know why he needs to run as fast as possible if the cops show up and given his complete and bizarre trust in Church, Church would feel a little guilty for dragging his oblivious innocence through the mud. 

“You just wanna see Wash,” Church grumbles as they finally reach the sprawling layout of old factories. 

They can hear the low murmur of voices a couple blocks ahead as well as the revving of engines. Buildings with gutted windows and dark stains loom all around them, any streetlights broken corpses offering nothing to pierce the night pressing on their bodies. 

“Hey, I’m not gonna judge you for your conquest, you don’t judge me for mine,” Tucker replies, elbowing Church when he stops to kick at a stone. “C’mon, we’re gonna be late.” 

“So what?” 

The two rarely go to these races, but Tucker stops listening to Church’s complaining and strides forward. Church follows on his heels and they finally break into an open parking lot where the motorcycles and even a couple cars are waiting to start the race. There are crowds of people along the walls of the buildings, but there are even more sitting on the rooftops of the abandoned factories. Some of the buildings even have fire escapes on them that people sit on and use to scramble up onto the roofs. Tucker pulls Church to the closest one to them, and they hurry to find a seat right near the edge of the roof. 

Tucker dangles his feet over the edge and kicks his heels against the wall, but Church keeps his legs firmly crossed on the roof. He studies the crowd around them as well as the layout of the factory yards where the races will take place. Not a single cop car is in sight even on the roads outside of the factory yards, but Church hasn’t heard of them breaking up a race in years. So long as no one dies, the town seems to have simply accepted the races as an unchangeable factor of the landscape, like the hot weather. 

“You’ve got to be fucking joking,” Church blurts when his gaze falls on a familiar blonde sitting on the rooftop of the building beside them. 

“What?” Tucker asks, and Church jabs his finger in Tex’s direction. 

The motorcycles below have her undivided attention and Church should have known she’s into something like this. Tucker starts laughing at the sight and Church viciously digs his elbow into Tucker’s side. 

“It’s not funny!” Church snaps. 

“It’s kinda funny, dude. Sides, you were the one sulking about not getting a chance to talk to her today. Now you have a chance.” 

“After the races,” Church says, knowing by now interrupting Tex when she’s that focused on something is a horrible decision that can only end in pain for him. 

Someone down below calls up that the races will start in a moment, but Church does a quick scan of the people sitting near Tex before turning his attention to the vehicles. Relief blooms in his chest when it appears Tex came alone, some of the guys near her staring, but none of them on speaking terms with her. 

The races start a moment later and the cheering of the crowd overwhelms Church. He pastes a scowl on his face even when he finds himself intrigued by the outcome of the race. Tucker has no problem getting into the eager mood of everyone around them, swearing and cheering with the rest of them. Church has no issue swearing at the top of his lungs, but the hulking masses of a lot of the older men in the crowd unnerve him. He keeps glancing over at Tex who’s just as into the races as Tucker and doesn’t seem at all concerned by the attention she’s garnering from some creepy, older men. 

Church tries not to think about why that makes the world turn red for a split second.

 After the races are over for the night, Tucker claps a hand on Church’s shoulder and then scrambles to his feet. 

“Good luck,” Tucker says before making a beeline for the fire escape. 

“You’re the worst wingman ever!” Church shouts after him when Tucker keeps his gaze on Wash standing on the street below. Tucker just offers Church the middle finger and then vanishes down the rusty ladder. 

Church grumbles to himself, but quickly searches for Tex. For a couple seconds he thinks she might have already left and panic spikes in his chest. Then he sees her landing on the ground below and heading straight for one of the racers resting against his motorcycle. 

The crowd of people moves all around him, but Church pushes his way through them in record time with a new sense of purpose pounding through him. He keeps watching Tex as she talks to the biker for a moment before handing him some cash. By the time Church reaches the ground and strolls over to her, she’s already sitting on the bike. 

Tucker and Wash are talking a few feet away and Church sees Tucker glance at him out of the corner of his eye, but Church keeps the majority of his attention on Tex. 

He stops directly in front of the motorcycle’s front wheel and offers Tex a lazy smile. When he doesn’t move, Tex raises an eyebrow at him.

 “You want a turn too, Mr. Bad Boy?” Tex asks, tone so sarcastic on the last part that Church feels a physical sting. 

He can hear Tucker snickering behind him while Church feels his cheeks heat. A second helmet dangles from Tex’s handlebars in the space between them and he lets his gaze linger on that before examining the rest of the bike. He pales while studying the hulking mass of metal before him and Tex smirks like she’s already won.

 “Got room for two?” Church says, leaning back on his heels with his hands shoved into his jean pockets in a forced nonchalance. “Gotta think of the gas two separate rides would waste.” 

Her smirk falters at that, but she doesn’t resist when he grabs the second helmet despite the growing scowl on her face. Fingers trembling slightly, Church shoves the helmet on his head and buckles the strap under his chin. Then he eases himself onto the seat behind Tex and stares at her back for a moment. 

The motorcycle shoots forward without warning, and Church shrieks as he desperately wraps his arms around Tex’s waist to keep from falling off. The bike jerks to a halt and Church can hear Tucker laughing his head off in the background. 

“Still wanna go for a ride, cockbite?” Tex asks, and he can hear the suppressed laughter in her voice. 

Church grits his teeth and then tightens his grip around her waist. 

“Ready whenever you are, bitch,” he tells her, and he tries not to freak out when the machine rumbles beneath them. 

Tex revs the engine and then they’re racing forward once more, Church pressing against Tex for safety rather than any attempts at flirtation. The wind rips at their faces as Tex zooms through the city streets toward the outskirts of the town. She doesn’t even hesitate when turning onto the country road, headlights casting a small cone of light on the empty country pavement. 

The sound of the motorcycle deafens Church and he’s half-convinced they’re going to crash and burn at any second. The helmet on his head feels as flimsy as paper when he thinks about being thrown from the bike and skidding across the pavement. He squeezes Tex even tighter but if the grip is painful, he doesn’t hear a word of complaint though he’s sure she’s smirking at him. 

The longer they ride, the less Church thinks about the possibility of crashing and the more he lets the physical sensations clear his mind. Something about the cool night air crashing against his face feels freeing once he stops thinking about how chafed his face will be after. Their speed causes exhilaration to pound through him once he realizes how skilled a driver Tex is, the adrenaline pushing away the exhaustion he constantly carries with him throughout the day. 

The vehicle beneath them oozes a nearly unstoppable power and Tex’s body becomes a beacon of warmth at the center of all the sensations slamming into Church. 

Underneath the inky sky with the beast of a machine thrumming beneath him and nothing but open space around him, Church feels more alive than he has for years. 

A laugh bursts from him, and he feels Tex shift slightly in surprise. But once he starts he finds he can’t stop, the noise bubbling in his chest and tumbling from his lips in endless wave after wave. No longer feeling like he’s about to fall off at any second, Church slowly lowers one of his arms from Tex. 

Then he raises his fist to the sky and let’s all the stress and exhaustion and frustration and fear spill to the stars above in one, long howl. If anyone else saw them, he thinks they would stare and laugh at what they view as a stupid teenager, but Church doesn’t give a shit how silly he might look or sound. 

When he pauses for breath, he hears Tex laughing over the sound of the motorcycle. He’s not sure how she’s still managing to drive, but the bike stays in their lane and doesn’t go veering into the ditch, so he just focuses on the sound for a moment. It’s not the mocking one he’s heard a couple times already or even the cut off notes he’s overheard when passing her and CT in the halls together. This laughter drips with lighter emotions, building up in every corner of her body before pouring from her mouth. 

This laughter makes Church grin and forget all about the money or ways Tex has left him more frustrated than he’s ever been in the past couple weeks. This laughter makes him want to do whatever he can to keep the sound going. This laughter makes him realize that Tex is not only the definition of a headknocker, but also the most beautiful girl he’s ever met. 

So Church grins even bigger and then repeats his actions once more as the night whips by around them. 

Church doesn’t know how much time has passed when Tex finally pulls over on the side of the road. He has no idea where they are, but even that thought can’t trigger his anxiety. She pulls off her helmet and he does the same, imitating her when she swings her legs over the side of the bike so they can sit on it side by side with the kickstand in place. 

“You know,” Tex begins after they sit in silence for a couple of minutes. “Everyone says you’re the guy to go to for smokes and I saw you in the pit a couple times last year, but I’ve never actually seen you smoking this year.” 

“Yeah, I stopped,” Church tells her, staring out at the black fields around them. 

He can see a light on in the farmhouse down the road, but other than that and the stars, only darkness consumes the air around them. The sound of cicadas rises above everything else, drawing his gaze briefly to the grove of trees at the end of the gravel driveway to their right. There’s an inch of space between his and Tex’s arms, both of them warm enough in their sweater and jacket respectively.

 “Huh,” Tex replies, and he looks over to see her gaze on her combat boots as she scuffs them against the road. “Well good, there’s a difference between being stupid and being a badass.” 

“A line you walk every day?” Church guesses, and he’s rewarded with the hints of a smirk. 

“I’m never stupid.” 

Church snorts and says, 

“Because this motorcycle stuff is so safe and smart.” 

“I have my license,” she replies smoothly.

 “The races are illegal.” 

“I didn’t see any cops, and I wasn’t the one doing them.” 

Church shakes his head, but doesn’t say anything more when Tex shoots him a look. 

“I’m actually glad I stopped,” he hears himself admitting, cursing internally when that catches all of Tex’s attention. 

“Yeah?” She offers him a full smirk at that. “You only doing it for your image?” 

Church doesn’t say anything and despite the lack of light, Tex spots the embarrassment creeping across his face. “You fucking did!” 

“It pissed off my parents,” Church grumbles. “Always fun to see my old man’s face get as red as a firetruck.” 

“You two don’t get along?” 

Church gives a half-shrug in response. 

“He’s alright sometimes, I guess,” Church says. “But other times I can’t wait to move out. And there’s way too many kids in our house.” 

“Yeah.” Tex seems lost in thought for a moment, and there’s understanding shining in her eyes when Church glances over at her. She brushes strands of blonde hair behind her ears and Church tracks the movement before giving himself a mental shake. “I can’t wait to move out.” 

“You got into university somewhere?” 

“Blood Gulch. They’ve got an awesome rehabilitation science program there.” 

“They also have a really good robotics program,” Church says slowly, not sure if he should keep speaking with the way Tex keeps staring at him. 

“You got into Blood Gulch?” she finally asks, and he wonders if the same mix of horror and incredulity is building in her chest like it is in his. 

“Yeah,” he finally replies weakly, hoping she won’t kill him for that alone. “I’ll probably go if I can make enough money.” 

She doesn’t question the financial situation so Church doesn’t swear at himself too long for letting that bit of personal information slip. Instead she stares at him a little more and then turns her body to face the fields once more. 

“Huh,” Tex repeats, and then doesn’t say anything more. 

She doesn’t look angry at that revelation but she’s pretty good at hiding her emotions. She simply sits there, barely moving a muscle as her chest rises and falls slowly. Her hand rests on the helmet hanging off the handlebar and Church picks up his from the ground to twirl in his hands purely for something to distract himself from her.

 “You know the smoking thing was also a great way to keep everyone away,” Church says a few minutes later. “Didn’t even really have to smoke many, just stood in the pit sometimes. And, uh, Caboose always tells really messed up versions of events so.” 

Tex turns slowly to look at him full on and blinks at him for a moment. 

“Are you trying to say,” Tex begins, “that the reason there are so many rumours about you is because one of your best friends is shit at remembering how things actually happen?” 

“Um, yeah?” 

“And you guys just don’t correct him?” 

“Tex, it’s _Caboose_.” Church sighs. “Sides, he’s not hurting anyone and he’s happy. Why would I fuck with that?” 

Church leans back a little more while being sure not to fall off the bike. “And it keeps all the idiots away. You do the same thing.” 

“I really don’t.” 

“So all that stuff they claim about you is true?” he shoots back. “It’s not exaggerated at all? And your grand plan doesn’t mean letting all that shit keep people away?” 

She glares at him. 

“We went on one motorcycle ride together,” Tex says. “Don’t act like that means you know me.” 

“What’s so bad about people knowing you?” 

“Coming from _you_?” 

“Tucker and Caboose know me. I want to shoot them half the time but–” 

“CT knows me,” Tex interrupts loudly. “Everyone else at our school is an idiot or a douchebag or both. And at least _I_ didn’t to do something that gives people cancer in order to avoid people.” 

“No, you’re just a rotten bitch.”

 “And you’re the asshole who still wants to hang out with me,” Tex retorts. “So what does that say?” 

Church considers his answer for a minute given that he can’t outright tell her that he’s being paid and given the fact that the money is no longer the only reason. 

“That we’re both actually really stupid,” Church finally answers. 

“Speak for yourself,” she replies, but there’s amusement in her voice and her body posture loosens. 

They switch between talking and sitting silently in a quiet Church is surprised to find as comfortable as he does. Most of their talking involves arguing and calling the other names, but at least he gleams information about Tex’s personal life and at least she speaks to him with shoving him away. 

They talk about video games and bitch about the teachers they hate and which songs are on their blacklist. They talk about the best songs ever, the best movies, and Tex teases Church for being a wimp when it comes to most physical activities. They talk about what they think Blood Gulch will be like, and Church tells Tex a little about his siblings so she tells him a few things about Carolina. They trade stories of the shit their friends have done and make bets about where all their classmates will end up. 

“We should go, I only gave the guy money for three hours,” Tex finally says a long time later, and they both start to put on their helmets. 

“I can’t believe he rented this to you,” Church says, and Tex just shrugs. He’s sure there’s a story there, but he’s satisfied with all the other things he’s learned about her tonight so he doesn’t press the matter. 

They head back into the city with a lot less shouting on Church’s part and Church wonders what ended up happening to Tucker for a moment. The guy didn’t text him at all so Church just assumes he found his own way home or even less likely, someone to bang. 

They arrive at the factory yard again where the man waits. Tex gives him back the bike with only a quick word of gratitude and the guy just nods before heading off. The two of them begin the walk home though when Church asks Tex about her dad letting her stay out this late, she tells him she’s staying at CT’s for the night. 

“She was too tired to come but she said I can crash there,” Tex explains, and Church nods. “You don’t have a curfew?” 

“Not really,” Church replies, though it’s more his parents have learned a curfew is as useless as setting a bedtime when it comes to Church. His body will fall asleep only when Church has given up on going to sleep early, so his parents have also stopped bothering with a curfew. 

They enter the area filled with lower middle class homes, ambling down the empty streets. “You gonna get your own bike when you go to Blood Gulch?" 

“I want one sooner but Dad’s pretty against the idea.” 

“Doesn’t seem to have stopped you before.” 

She smiles at that. 

“Money is also an issue.” 

“No kidding,” he mutters. 

They reach CT’s house and Tex places a foot on the driveway before Church stops her. 

“So Wash is throwing a party next Saturday,” he says, and she turns so they’re face to face. “You should go with me.” 

“Why the hell would I do that?” Tex asks with a frown. 

“Because we just had fun?” 

“Yeah, and we also said everyone at our school sucks.” 

A part of him screams that he shouldn’t push her, but the memories of his conversation with York and South on Wednesday drown out that more sensible part. Church takes a step closer and tries not to sound like he’s pleading even though they both know he is. 

“C’mon, it might be fun. Last year, might as well go out with a bang, right?” 

She studies him for a long moment and her face hardens even as she says,

 “Fine. You can walk me over at seven.”

 Then she turns on her heel and heads inside without another word, leaving Church alone on the sidewalk.

 ***

South tells York if he gushes about how things are going with Carolina one more time, she will rip his tongue out. He tries to tone it down around the Dakota twins, but he can’t make himself stop talking about it completely when he insists things are going so well.

He and Carolina talk in every class, they study together after school now, sometimes she talks to him on breaks, and he’s hung out with her and Maine a couple times. The sight of Carolina’s massive friend made York more than a little nervous the first time they were introduced, but even the twins like Maine now.

York and Carolina have also gone to the cliffs together and walked together for a bit, salty air hitting their faces in gusts. He hasn’t asked her yet on an official date, but with Church’s assurances and South’s news about Wash’s party, York preps himself to ask her soon.

An opportunity presents itself the Wednesday of the week the party will be. Carolina asks him if he wants to walk around with her on lunch break, and York instantly leaps to say yes just like he always does. They go down the stone bleachers step by step and then walk around the football field. A couple of guys and girls toss a football around beneath the hot sun, but otherwise York and Carolina have the lower lawn to themselves.

They talk briefly about class for a bit and York finds his mind sticking on the memory of a couple girls whispering and giggling at Carolina in the halls when York talked with her that morning. He glances over at her as she talks, wind blowing the strands of red hair she tucks behind her ears. When she notices him staring, she offers him a small smile even though her eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“How come everyone calls you the Ice Queen?” York blurts before he can think about the question.

Carolina comes to an immediate halt and York freezes along with her. Her eyes widen and her mouth parts slightly as shame floods York.

“Sorry,” he says quickly when she just keeps standing there. “That was a really dumb thing to ask–really insensitive and not cool. Forget I even asked.”

“Why did you ask?” Carolina asks before he can babble anymore. York doesn’t know how to interpret the emotions in her voice; it sounds like an attempt at composure but notes of betrayal slice through.

“I didn’t–it’s just that everyone keeps saying it but I don’t understand.” York shakes his head and then meets Carolina’s gaze directly. “You’re nothing like one.”

“Oh,” Carolina replies, and her shoulders relax a fraction.

She starts walking again, but slower than before and with her arms crossed over her chest. They finish another loop of the field in silence, and then Carolina speaks again. “It’s stupid really. A couple of guys really liked me–not all at once but you know, since we started high school. And I liked a couple of them and it really sucked cuz of my dad’s dumb rule.”

Their pace stays at a slow amble, but neither of them make any attempt to speed up. Carolina looks down at the ground as they make their way past the bottom of the stone bleachers, but York can’t look away from her. “But before I could do anything, they always asked me to do stuff right before tests. And I didn’t even need to tell them about the rule because of that.”

“Because of tests?” York clarifies as the sun warms the back of his neck.

“Because they always wanted to do stuff the nights before my tests! Every single time!” Carolina chews her lip for a moment and then glares at the ground. “I really, really want to date but I can’t _fail_ school!”

Carolina stops once more, finally looking up at York again. There’s a hint of pleading in her green eyes, but she juts her chin out at him and holds herself tall as he gapes the smallest amount. “So then those guys told everyone that I was frigid and didn’t like anyone and whatever else people say about me.”

“They’re the biggest idiots I’ve ever heard of,” York finally replies, eager honesty dragging him a step closer to Carolina. “The biggest assholes I’ve ever heard of! Your dedication is awesome and everyone should respect it!”

Carolina blinks at him for a few seconds and then gives him the biggest smile he’s yet to see on her face. The sight makes York grin, and both of them have small smiles on their faces when they begin moving around the field. The sentiment and Carolina’s disclosure to him gives him the confidence for his next move.

“Since nobody has any tests on Sundays, do you wanna go to Wash’s party with me?” York asks. He glances over quickly and sees Carolina’s attention locked on him. “Like, uh, as a date too?”

“I want to,” Carolina replies right away, but her expression darkens a second later as York perks up at the answer. “But my dad’s stupid rule.”

“Tex will go,” York assures her, and she frowns at him.

“But she hates parties,” Carolina argues. “And she hates everyone at this school more. She’s never going to date ever and nobody _wants_ to date her.”

Carolina looks so upset by the thought that York finds himself blurting,

“Church will bring her.”

“Church?” Carolina’s frown deepens as she tries to put the face to a name. “That asshole Blue? Why would she ever like him? Why would he ever like _her_?”

Which is why York ends up explaining the entire plan to pay Church to ask Tex out so Carolina can date York. He nearly collapses in relief when Carolina doesn’t reject him and the whole plan outright, instead asking what she can do to help.

The relief is short-lived when he realizes that Carolina might be okay with the reveal, but South is liable to shove him right off the cliff when he tells her what happened.  

***

 York already waits on the front porch of Tex and Carolina’s house when Church arrives to pick Tex up for Wash’s party. The other teenager waves at Church as he makes his way up the sidewalk and then up the creaking wooden steps. Church slouches against the wooden railing and tries to find the nervousness hiding in York’s face. The guy’s smiling confidently enough, but he’s not yet as good as North at masking everything with a veneer of easy friendliness. 

“You rang the doorbell?” Church asks just as a particularly loud female voice sounds from inside the house. 

“Yeah,” York replies, both of them giving the door an uncertain look. “Their dad said he needed to talk to them. I kinda thought he was gonna take a swing at me for a sec.” 

“But you’re so charming,” Church says sarcastically, and York’s smile thins a little. 

For a moment, Church gets a glimpse of the stubborn fight York keeps hidden away most of the times, steel seeping into his straight spine and venom dripping from his tongue as every muscle coils in preparation for an attack. Suddenly, he seems perfectly capable of standing tall in front of a girl like Carolina and matching her strike for strike. 

Then the door is opening and both of them are turning toward the open doorway where Carolina stands framed in the light. All of the tension flees from York in a second, and the lovesick dork Church takes him for appears once more. 

“Let’s go,” Carolina says, though she does give York a little smile. She glances once at Church, who offers half a wave before York and her walk away. 

“Church.” 

Church turns at the sound of Tex’s voice as she comes barrelling out of the house. Alarm starts coursing through him when he sees the pissed off expression on her face, but he doesn’t have time to say anything before she’s grabbing a fistful of his t-shirt and dragging him down the stairs. 

“Are we going or not?” she snaps at him when he stumbles a little at the force of her grip and the speed she heads down the sidewalk. “This was your fucking idea.” 

“You look like we’re going to a bar fight, not a party,” Church says even though that’s likely to just make her angrier. 

She shoves away from him and he nearly falls right off the sidewalk and into the street. His indignant squawk doesn’t earn a reaction from Tex, but the sight of York and Carolina chatting as they walk beneath the streetlights up ahead has her falling back to Church’s side. 

“Walk slower,” Tex instructs, and Church glares at her. 

“You’re the one who was racing,” he grumbles but doesn’t say anything more when they fall into step together. 

Tex crosses her arms over her chest and doesn’t say a word. The silence and angry look that stays on her face gives Church a bad feeling about the whole night, but he doesn’t know what to do to make it better. When he tries asking, she just snaps at him to mind his own business. So he takes one from Tucker and Caboose’s conversation and asks her what she would do in the most ridiculous scenarios he can come up with.

 She shoots him a look of disbelief at that, but when he just stares back at her seriously, she shakes her head. 

“You’re so lame,” she says, but a second later she gives him an answer all the same. Then she asks one of her own and the game carries them all the way to Wash’s house on the heels of Carolina and York. 

The party looks and sounds to be in full swing by the time they get there. Church loses sight of York and Carolina right away, and any bit of joy Church managed to drag out of Tex on the way there vanishes beneath an even sourer mood when they step inside. People are everywhere; dancing and shouting and laughing and drinking and pressing up against all of them. A guy grabs at Tex in the front hallway and then a plastered girl presses against Church’s side when they make their way up the carpeted staircase. 

Church only looks away for a second, but Tex vanishes in that short amount of time. Frustration builds inside Church as he searches the crowds continually for her without luck, the heat from everyone else’s sweaty bodies suffocating him. He ends up blindly taking a couple of shots of alcohol that are being carried around the room but that only makes him burn more. He should have known the alcohol wouldn’t help, but the longer he searches for the Tex, the less clearly he thinks. 

South finds him while he’s busy looking for Tex half an hour later as he curses every single other body who’s crammed into the massive house. She gives him a predatory grin when she sees him and shoves a wad of cash into his hand. 

“There you go,” South says. “Your money for this date.” 

“Thanks,” Church mutters, and cranes his gaze over the heads of everyone. They’re in the front living room now, some people playing a drinking game in the middle of the room while others make out on the couches and in the corners of the room. 

“Lost her already?” South guesses, and Church grits his teeth at the amusement in her voice. “Hey, at least you got her here. Maybe you should ask York for tips on actually keeping her.” 

“Carolina’s still hanging out with him?” 

“Looked like it,” South says with a shrug. 

“And have you seen Tex?” Church asks because the way the corners of her lips keep curling up make his stomach sink. He braces himself for the news as South grabs his shoulder. 

“I saw her in the backyard getting drunk as fuck a couple minutes ago.” 

Given all the rumours about her and what Church knows for sure, the news shouldn’t really surprise him. Yet given her earlier distaste toward the party, he didn’t see her getting drunk at it. Leaving early or punching someone, sure, but for whatever reason, alcohol didn’t factor into Church’s concerns. 

He only hangs around long enough to grunt a thank you at South after that. Then he’s shoving his way through the throngs of bodies out to the backyard. 

He thought the backyard might be a bit better given the cool night air, but there are just as many people dancing and shrieking out there. Most of them stand and dance on the patio with glowing paper lanterns strung above their heads from the branches of the trees lining the patio. A couple of people are standing in bunches on the grass, some people lying on the expansive lawn but Church doesn’t want to look too close at what they’re doing. 

When he finally spots Tex, his whole body goes still. He’s taken a couple steps onto the patio by that point, gaze roaming over the people standing near the house wall and gaze falling on familiar blonde hair. Moving closer makes him realize she’s far from alone though. A guy leans against the house wall, his hands under Tex’s blue halter top and their lips never leaving each other’s for more than few seconds. Another guy grinds on Tex’s behind, one of her arms reaching up to wrap around his neck while he has his hands on her bare thighs. 

Church tries to tell himself the way his breath catches in his throat and ugly anger begins to burn his chest is absolutely not jealousy. He stomps over to the trio and before he can think about anything too deeply, wraps a hand around Tex’s forearm. She stumbles when he tugs her away, the other two guys looking up in confusion and then glaring at Church. They recognize him a second later and whatever emotion is in his expression has them slinking away to find another body.

 “What the hell, Tex?” Church demands once they’re gone. She blinks up at him, and he tries not to stare at her swollen lips or the mess her hair has become. 

“What’s your problem?” Tex snaps back once understanding of her situation dawns on her face. 

She shoves away from Church and he lets her go even as he continues to wait for her answer. The anger on his face just makes her more defensive and she sways from side to side when she gestures around at the people around them. “That is what people do at parties, isn’t it? Make out and grind.” 

“Yeah but usually with the guy who brought them there.” 

“Cuz you’re putting out so generously,” she snaps. 

She starts to stalk away, stumbling and grabbing at the wall for balance but still managing to shove her way through the crowd. Church gapes after her, knowing the words that left his mouth aren’t the ones he intended to say but completely taken aback by Tex’s comment given how she doesn’t even seem to want to hug him. He doesn’t see why she would be upset about him not kissing her and he curses as he follows her back inside the house and toward the front door. 

This is why he never dates; it’s confusing and people are as dramatic as Tucker says Church is and Church honestly doesn’t know how to deal with girls who are upset with him. He’s not good at being comforting, which is only fair given he doesn’t like receiving the usual sappy shit when he’s upset. 

He’s also horrible at letting things go, which is why he follows Tex out the front door calling her name despite her tense shoulders. A few people glance at them as they go, but they get out of the way quickly when they spot Tex’s expression. She stomps down the front stairs and sidewalk, veering out onto the street’s sidewalk unsteadily in her heels. She goes the opposite direction of her home and Church has no idea if the decision is intentional or if she just doesn’t realize where she’s going. 

“Would you just wait one fucking second,” Church calls after her, lengthening his strides when she ignores him. “Tex! Jesus Christ why do you–I’m not–look, I’m not gonna take advantage of you when you’re smashed!” 

That finally gets her to stop, and Church stumbles to a halt as she whirls back around. Her hair sticks out wildly around her pale face, eyes bright with alcohol and anger and the streetlight hanging directly above them. Without a word she takes deliberate steps back toward him until she’s right in his personal space, making the cool night air suddenly seem as hot as a summer day at noon. 

“You think you could ever take advantage of me?” she asks, and he tries to ignore how close they are. 

Instead he thinks about the money he’s being paid for this and all the ways this is a set-up as he stares into her eyes. He thinks about the all the ways he’s lying to her despite having already shared more truths with her than he has any other girl. 

He can’t think about her belief that he would never cross her boundaries despite constantly calling him an asshole. 

“Yeah,” he finally gets out despite how unsteady his voice suddenly sounds. 

Tex presses even closer like she’s going to kiss him, body flush against his and Church has to wrap his arms around her to keep them from both falling over completely. Her fingers curl slightly where they rest against the blue fabric of his t-shirt stretching across his chest. Her breath warms his face, eyes locked on his, and even the stench of alcohol on her isn’t a deterrent. 

Panic explodes in his brain because his breath is quickening, his blood is pounding through him, and suddenly he’s overwhelmed by the desire to kiss her.

She smirks at him. 

“Just kidding,” she breathes with her lips only an inch away from his.

Then she’s pushing away from him as he blinks. She turns away and starts walking again. 

“You bitch!” he calls when he finds his voice again. 

A few feet away now, Tex spins back around. 

“You asshole,” she shouts, but she’s grinning as she says it. She’s bent over slightly at the waist as she sways in her heels so it looks like she’s bowing to the whole world for a stunning performance. 

That eases all the tension between them in a few seconds, and Tex doesn’t try running away again. She undoes her heels instead as Church makes his way toward her and then they start walking down the sidewalk side by side, the heels dangling from Tex’s fingers. Church didn’t think she even owned a pair, but he can’t deny how good she looks in them. And she looks just as good with the straps twisting around her fingers and the shoes arcing through the air around her. 

Those thoughts are probably a sign that Church also drank too much at the party, but he consoles himself by noting how he’s doing better at balancing than Tex. Even with her heels off, she keeps drifting from side to side though she hasn’t fallen yet. The longer they walk though, the closer their bodies get and the more Church can’t stand even the miniscule distance between them. 

Eventually Church wraps an arm around her shoulders without getting brushed off and they both start leaning more and more heavily on the other in their drunken state. They talk as they wander aimlessly through the streets with the stars shining above their heads, their conversation lighter than the one leading up to the party. 

“I’m serious!” Church insists at one point. Tex keeps shaking her head but there’s a small smile pulling at her lips the whole time. “You act the same! Like, the exact same! I know I freaked out but you’ve probably done the grinding shit sober too.”

“I’m not a nun y’know.” 

She pokes his chest hard enough to make him wince which simply proves his point about her capacity for similar behaviour while drunk and sober. Though he supposes her wrapping an arm around his waist and her fingers resting lightly on his hip is something she’s never done while sober. 

“Well it’s confusing when you wear so much black,” Church replies, and Tex rolls her eyes at him. She knocks their heads together a lot lighter than Church would have expected with a hum. Then she frowns and looks over at him. 

“Wait, is that a bad thing? The acting the same, not the nun thing.” 

“Nah, sober you’s a pretty cool chick,” Church admits. “But drunk secrets would be cool.” 

Tex snorts and nearly falls over despite their grip on each other.

“Over my dead body.” 

And yet, ten minutes later they start talking about all the rumours they have heard about the other and admitting to where they stem from. Tex finds the source of most of the rumours about Church hilarious since they usually stem from him and Tucker getting into the most ridiculous situations and Caboose’s retelling somehow turning the incidents into sketchy stories that make them seem like hard-core bastards. The rumours about Tex seem to have a little more grain of truth in them, though she insists the one about the fire stems from her accidentally setting her homework on fire with a Bunsen burner in chemistry class. 

“What about breaking that girl’s leg in soccer?” Church asks. At that point they have reached a park only a couple minutes away from Tex’s house, the dewy grass not bothering Tex at all as they stroll through it. 

“That’s true,” Tex says, and Church gapes at her. “Hey, I didn’t do it on purpose! We were practicing a scrimmage and a slide tackle went wrong.” 

He keep staring at her. “It’s really rare.” 

“Fucking kidding me?” 

“The other girl was fine with it!” 

“She was fine with you breaking her _leg_?” 

“Well I mean there was a lot of screaming.” Tex considers the memory as Church tries not to stumble over the curb at the end of the park. “But y’know, she knew it was an accident. She wasn’t mad forever.” 

“I don’t–” Church shakes his head helplessly. “ _How_ –” 

Tex just grins at him and despite all the screeching in his head warning him he’s getting in too deep, Church grins back. 

***

After the party, things get easier with Tex. Well, at least in terms of getting her to talk to him. She’s still the most frustrating person Church has ever met, but when he grabs her elbow after their English class together and tries to start a conversation, she doesn’t stalk away or punch him in the gut and then move on. He’s quick to release her and then fall into stride with her as they shove their way through the hallways to the next class. The brief conversations make Church less ready to kill everyone who presses against him in the crowded hall, and keep him from just throwing his hands in the air and skipping the rest of the school day.

At lunch and after school, she doesn’t glare at him until he leaves her and CT alone. She lets him sit with them sometimes and listens when he and CT talk, though she still spends half the time insulting him. He spends about half the time bitching at her and about her though, so he sees nothing unfair about the trade. Tucker calls him insane and a hopeless case, telling Caboose they need to prepare to say goodbye to him, resulting in an hour long session of Church assuring a tearful Caboose Tucker is just joking.

Then the actual dates begin and South stays true to her word by paying Church after each one. Neither Tex nor Church call them dates when around each other, but Church knows from York that Carolina uses them to have her dad let her hang out with York after school and on weekends so South gives him the money promised.

Which events count as dates and which are simply hang-outs is something South decides. Some seem arbitrary, some happen because they are romantic movie clichés, but Church doesn’t try to argue. His stomach feels increasingly sick each time South hands over a wad of cash, but Church doesn’t protest. Words get tangled on their way up his tight throat, so the only response he can manage to give South is a grunt of gratitude. If anyone doubts Church will continue the façade, they don’t verbalize those thoughts. Only Tucker starts telling Church he’s fucked and he needs to seriously reconsider what he’s doing after Church shows up to school on one hour of sleep and nearly rips Tucker’s head off for one offhand comment about Tex.

In the meantime, Church and Tex start playing Halo together a few times every week, though those aren’t counted as dates. Church doesn’t care though as they slowly become one of the best parts of his week and it means there’s always someone else he knows staying up to the wee hours of the morning with him when he can’t sleep.

They watch a horror movie at Tex’s house one weekend when her dad is out and they both agree to never watch one together again after Church ends up screaming several times and Tex throws the popcorn bowl in his face at a scary part.

Watching action movies is a lot less dangerous for Church, and they both have no issue swearing at the top of their lungs at the screen. Tex still occasionally dumps popcorn on his head even then.

Tex makes Church go to rock climbing inside with her and CT, and then spends half the time keeling over from laughter when Church gets tangled in the line constantly.  

They study together at diners, Tex throwing pens at Church while he looks up courses at Blood Gulch and reads the descriptions out loud.

He goes with her to a couple more motorcycle races and doesn’t hesitate when she rents the bike for a couple hours and offers him a helmet.

Eventually she meets Tucker and Caboose too, showing up without warning when the three of them sit on a bench in the park downtown eating lunch. Tucker falls right off the back of the bench he sat on when she speaks suddenly from behind them and Church knocks over his drink with a curse. Only Caboose appears unaffected, blinking curiously at Tex when she slips into the space between him and Church with a smirk. After a bit of squabbling and Tex punching Tucker a couple of times for his comments, Tucker stops glaring at Tex suspiciously and Caboose stops looking to Church every time she says something. Tucker begins to tease her as he does Church and Caboose laughs as she tells him stories about Church while Church protests the validity of her statements.

Tex even comes over to his house at one point and meets his siblings when his parents are still at work. The small gaggle of children pounce on them the moment they enter the house, the twins hanging back for a long moment in their shyness but the rest all asking loud questions of Tex. She answers them well enough and keeps her facial expression composed, but Church doesn’t miss the way she takes a step closer to Church at their approach. He doesn’t comment on the near sigh she lets loose once they’re inside his room with a solid wall between them and the children.

Despite all the official dates and other hang-outs, they never do anything more than lounge on each other. Tex constantly uses him as an arm rest or pillow or couch even, but she doesn’t try and kiss him or do anything sexual. Church doesn’t try to change that, desperately ignoring any new desires to kiss her by reminding himself of the money fuelling all of this.  

It’s a couple of weeks before prom when they go to the paintball placenear the fairgrounds together. They are the only two in sight when they show up, everyone else still in their beds or finishing up a cup of coffee. None of their friends go with them, York using the opportunity to once more take Carolina out on what for them is an official date, no unspoken questions about it.

They meet at the fairgrounds, no anger or tense muscles anywhere to be found on Tex. They fall into easy taunting the moment they start to get on the gear and grab their weapons, Tex putting her hair up in a messy bun as Church pulls on the face mask. He fumbles a bit with the weapon and keeps fidgeting with the equipment, but Tex doesn’t make a single mistake and the outfit fits her as comfortably as the leather jacket she’s been wearing for years.

The sight causes something in Church’s chest to clench and his stomach churns slightly. Then she asks him if he’s ready to have his ass kicked, the smirk clear in her voice, and pooling heat replaces the churning in his gut.

They begin the game a moment later. Church is pretty sure most games have more than just two people playing against each other but like everyone else in the town, the operator doesn’t seem to give a fuck. They play beneath the hot sun, ducking behind and out of the cover of the wooden boards scattered everywhere on a wide open expanse of grass. Stacks of tires tower above them and Tex constantly leaps right over the red, inflatable tubes that provide places to hide behind.

Not much time passes before they both realize Church has the worst aim of anyone either of them have ever met. Even on the odd time he manages to surprise Tex enough to get a shot off, the ball of paint splatters several feet away no matter how little the distance between them.

Meanwhile, paint covers every part of Church by the time an hour has passed and several parts of him sting from where the shot made contact. Hair sticks to his forehead in sweaty strands and washing the paint out of the black tangles will be a nightmare later. The long sleeved shirt and jeans he wears only makes the heat so much worse, and he grows tired much faster than Tex.

No matter how much time passes, Tex shows no signs of slowing down. She only ever stays still long enough to get a perfect shot off and then moves on to a new place of cover while Church curses. At one point she actually leaps over a low board Church crouches behind and hits him with a paint bullet while in midair. The moment the balls of her feet touch down, she’s sprinting away while Church picks himself up off the ground.

Church knows they’re getting close to their time limit when he gets another miraculous chance at shooting Tex close range. His first shot misses and she whirls around from where he crawled around the corner of the relatively clean wooden board she hides behind. The mask muffles his swearing as he gets into a crouching position to fire off another round. The shot goes way over her head and Tex doesn’t even try to duck nor run. She simply crouches there before straightening while Church does the same, still trying to get a hit.

She pulls off her mask so he can hear the full sound of her laugh, her own weapon dangling by her side.

“Hey, I think I actually felt a breeze on that one,” Tex says in between the notes of her laughter on Church’s next shot.

The sound still mesmerizes Church as much as it had the first time he heard it, and he slowly lowers his weapon. He rips off his own mask so Tex can clearly hear him when he replies,

“Fuck it.”

Then he lunges.

Church manages to get his arms wrapped around her and knock both of them to the ground. The breath whooshes out of both of them as Church lands on top of Tex, and Church realizes after a few seconds of trying to catch his breath that he could have just given Tex a concussion. When she doesn’t immediately shove Church off or punch him in the face, he places his elbows on the ground on either side of her shoulders and slowly lifts his head.

Instead of the ground, he finds his vision filled with the sight of Tex’s slightly flushed face as she stares up at him. A single silent second stretches on and on between them as their lips hover an inch apart, the other’s breath warming their face as they continue to pant from the exertion of the game.

Without looking away, Tex reaches both hands up and tangles them through his dirty hair. Another second ticks by and Church can’t hear anything but the blood pounding in his ears. Then Tex pulls him down and presses their lips together, and any coherent thought flies from Church’s mind. All the physical sensations that come along with kissing and the way his body goes hot all over destroys any previous hesitation over kissing her.

The kiss quickly goes from a light, first time kiss to borderline making out on the paint splattered ground. Church gets his elbows in a more secure position and Tex’s hands just tighten in his hair when he kisses back as hard as he can. The grip causes little sparks of pain to skitter over his scalp at the roots of his hair, but the sensation only adds to everything else overwhelming any remaining inhibition.

They only pull apart when an alarm blares from the speakers hanging on a pole in the middle of the field to let them know their session is over. Tex doesn’t let go of him completely, simply loosens her grip enough that Church can lift his head a few inches away. He doesn’t try to stand up yet, trying to catch his breath as he gazes down at her brown eyes once more. She’s breathing just as hard as him, not saying a word as she stares up at him with strands of blonde hair falling to the ground.

Their masks lay a foot away from them, Church’s covered in stains of colour like the rest of him, but not even the gross feeling of the paint caking his whole body can crush the happiness exploding in his chest.

“Go to prom with me,” he says. Not for York’s sake or for the money he will get, but because he wants to see her in a dress and make fun of the shitty music with her and maybe even dance with her. The urge to possess that memory suddenly fills every part of him and he can’t take back the words even if Tex’s silence makes him want to.

Tex studies him a little longer and when the next group of players start to filter onto the field she finally replies.

“Okay.”  

*** 

“–not getting jiggy with some boy, no matter how dope his ride is,” Tex and Carolina’s dad says to them as they stand in the front hallway of their house. Tex rolls her eyes at her dad’s stern expression and outdated slang, but Carolina nods her head seriously. 

“We know, Dad,” she assures him as the doorbell rings. She gives him a sweet smile as Tex answers the door. 

York stands on their porch with a dopey smile and nervous eyes. The teen smiles when he sees Tex, a reaction she’s still getting used to. The smile vanishes for a second underneath the loving awe when he catches a glimpse of Carolina in the blue dress that perfectly accentuates her slim form. The dress has much more ruffles and pouf than Tex’s simple black halter dress, but Tex thinks it works perfectly on her. 

“It’s nice to meet you again, sir,” York says to their dad, who simply offers the boy a glare. Maybe the look would have been intimidating a couple years ago, but the girls are so used to it that Carolina just loops her arm through York’s with a bright smile. 

“Love you, Dad,” she says, and then pulls York out the door as the piles of red curls she’s pinned up on her head bounce with each step. 

“Just remember, I’m friends with the chairman of the police force,” their dad reminds Tex as she follows her sister out the door. 

“No sex, got it,” Tex calls over her shoulder, smirking a little when she hears him shouting after her. 

She slides into York’s car, the boy having offered to drive both girls to the prom with Church meeting Tex there. Given that Carolina has been treating Tex with a lot less vicious anger now that she’s dating, both of them agreed to the offer. Carolina even insisted the sisters get ready together before York came, scrunching her nose at the rock music Tex chose to play while they did make-up, but humming along to the few songs she knew. 

Now Tex watches her sister smile and talk eagerly with York as he drives along the quiet city streets, and feels some of the guilt she’s felt for leaving Carolina alone with their dad next year ease. Carolina might have verbally denied ever wanting Tex’s help and Tex might have told both of them she couldn’t wait to get away, but she still loves her little sister. And if she has someone like this boy who adores her and a friend like Maine around, then maybe Tex doesn’t have to worry about her getting into too much trouble on her own. Carolina might not go to motorcycle races like Tex, but Tex is sure the perfectionist traits can be just as dangerous. 

The ride to the prom blurs by, and Carolina and York separate from Tex once she assures them she’ll find Church soon enough. The prom committee managed to book the only semi-nice dining hall and ballroom in Sidewinder, full of arching doorways, massive carpeted stairwells, spacious halls for dancing, old wood everywhere, and even a couple chandeliers. Carolina and York go straight to the hall where a live band already plays and their classmates already dance. 

Tex pauses in the main lobby, gaze eventually landing on Church where he stands on the second floor balcony talking with Caboose and Tucker. Tucker spots Tex first as she makes her way up the stairs, and he drags Caboose away from Church when Church turns toward her. 

“Bow chicka bow wow,” Tucker says when he passes Tex on the landing with a grin. She flips him off and he laughs as he pulls Caboose down the stairs. 

She turns her attention to Church where he stands in a well-fitted tux and leans against the railing. The happiness pounding through her veins only triggers unease, so instead she focuses on how Church’s own stunned adoration shows clearly on his face. The sight makes her want to laugh as she comes to a standstill in front of him. So many rumours about him and so many ways in which he’s an asshole, yet he still hasn’t learned how to hide his emotions from everyone. He knows how to cover most of it with irritation and snarky comments, but he can’t stop his eyes from brightening at the sight of her, nor stop the fingers tapping on the railing from going still. 

“What, no corsage?” Tex teases when he doesn’t say anything, because it’s always been easier to focus on the banter than anything deeper. Not that she has much practice in this specific situation given she’s never dated anyone seriously before. 

“I figured you’d just throw it away,” Church replies, and Tex forces her attention to the present conversation only. “Or like shove it at me and ask what the fuck you were supposed to do with it.” 

“Give it to Tucker or Caboose,” Tex suggests. “Or better, South.” 

“You want your date to get murdered by two angry lesbians?” 

“Connie’s bi,” Tex corrects. “But hey, entertainment for the night.” 

He shakes his head at that, the overt fondness retreating back inside for a moment much to Tex’s comfort. 

They walk down to the dance room together, the loud music not nearly as irritating as Tex thought it would be. She doesn’t want to dance, but she’s fine with sitting with Church at one of the tables shoved against the wall with Caboose while they listen to the music and talk. She catches glimpses of Tucker laughing and dancing freely, and her sister smiling at York where they dance and hold hands. Craning her gaze over the heads of the crowd, she manages to see South wearing poofy pantaloons and a jabot to match Connie's Shakespearian era dress. 

Tex leans against Church’s side a little on the bench they share at the table and sings along when the band actually does a cover of Lily Allen. Church teases her for most of it, but Caboose bops his head and continually asks Church to sing along when Tex reminds them both that she knows Church now has the song memorized. 

Time goes by a lot faster than Tex thought it would, and she doesn’t want to murder everyone she knows. Closer to the end of the evening, Church suddenly stiffens beside her and she glances over at his expression. 

“I’m gonna get drinks,” he tells her, but there’s a determination in the set of his jaw too intense for the simple task of getting some fruit punch. She just nods, watching him as he gets off the bench and pushes his way through the crowd. He waves away Caboose’s request to get him some juice and then disappears into the mass of dancing people. 

Tex knows the line for the punch isn’t that long and when she stands on the bench to look over, she doesn’t see Church anywhere in sight. Suspicion nibbles at her brain and she tells Caboose she’s going to help Church carry drinks over. Then she begins marching through the swarms of people. When moving through the room once doesn’t yield Church, she turns her attention to the main lobby where people are continually moving in and out of. 

Church doesn’t stand in the lobby either, so she heads up the main staircase, hand sliding along the dark railing. At the top of the landing she glances around, and spots the black material of a tux standing near the entrance of one of the hallways on the second floor. She heads over quietly, smirk already beginning to tug at the corners of her lips at the thought of scaring the shit out of Church. 

“–none of your business!” The sound of Church’s frustrated voice causes Tex to halt a few feet behind him. He stands with his back to her and an impatient South in front of him. Neither one of them notice the silent Tex, gazes locked on each other. 

“Okay okay, take a chill pill,” South replies, holding up her hands in front of her. “I won’t give you the cash.” 

“Ever,” Church clarifies, anger lacing through his voice. “I don’t want any of it for anymore dates.” 

“Jesus Christ, okay, I got it, you’ll date Tex without being paid now. Now get out of my way so I can go make-out with my girlfriend.” 

Church turns slightly so South can move past him as she looks up, and that’s when she finally notices Tex standing there. She freezes mid-step, and the widening of her eyes has Church whirling around. For a single moment they all remain trapped in a tableau of dawning horror. 

“Tex,” Church says, and there’s an entire galaxy full of guilt in that single word. 

For a single second everything inside her goes still in preparation for the pain that goes ripping through her when the understanding fully seeps into her brain. 

Then she’s spinning on her heel and launching herself away from the two of them. Church calls her name but she doesn’t slow down, stalking toward the staircase and then rushing down the stairs as her thoughts tumble endlessly inside her brain in one incoherent disaster. 

A hand wraps around her wrist at the foot of the staircase, and Tex turns back around with one arm lashing out for a face to hit. Her open hand slams into Church’s cheek and he goes stumbling back with a surprised exclamation of pain. That doesn’t stop him from swaying back into an upright position, desperate gaze locking onto her shaking form. 

“If you just listen–” 

“I don’t want to hear your bullshit excuses,” she snaps, and she hates that a part of her does. She hates even more that a part of her knows she might have done the same thing for money but instead she’s the one being forced to know what it feels like to be used. 

“You know, you’re even _shittier_ than I expected,” she tells him before he can get out another word. 

Instead of trying to speak, Church’s hand latches around her wrist once more and he jerks her forward into a kiss as if that single action can somehow make up for all the shit he’s done. 

The contact only lasts for a second and then Tex kicks Church right in the crotch. He goes down in an instant, moan spilling from his lips as Tex pushes away from his falling form. She stares down at his crumpled form as her hands curl into fists. Her rage only grows stronger when the sight doesn’t make her feel pure satisfaction, hurt and grief mixing inside her chest as well when she turns away from his prone form and pained groans. 

Church calls her name again and Tex storms away even as she feels the unfamiliar urge to hold onto someone who’s hurt her.

***

Tex refuses to talk to him. For a full three weeks after the prom she places her textbooks on the seat beside her in English where Church has been sitting. Her glare dares him to try and move her stuff without getting a bloody nose, so he banishes himself to the far side of the classroom. When class ends, she’s out of the classroom in the seconds it takes him to grab his bag, and she’s lost in the swarms of students by the time he reaches the doorway.

Only once at lunchtime does he see her, and she’s with both CT and South when he stumbles upon them. He left Caboose and Tucker to eat lunch without him but even with them, he would stay clear of the trio of girls after they level with him a single look in unison. Church wants to tell them their unity is completely unfair given that South was the one who paid him, but he’s pretty sure that will just make them hate him more. If they’re sitting together then they must have already reached a resolution after what he is sure had to have been a series of terrifying shouting matches, and attempting to ruin that would lead to his quick death.

Trying to grab Tex after school when she’s alone or texting her produces only the same dismal results.

Carolina and York are the most sympathetic, but their sentiments do nothing to make Church feel better about the whole mess even though they are at the core of the social catastrophe.

“Sure, but you _did_ agree on your own,” Tucker points out when Church mopes on his bed, Tucker playing on the Xbox.

“And who was it who told me I should agree?” Church snaps back even though he knows he can’t just shove all of the responsibility off on other people.

Tucker just snorts in response. The Blue remains unsurprised by the unfolding of events, yet he doesn’t complain when Church insists they hang out at each other’s houses after school rather than anywhere else.

Church wants to tell himself to just forget about Tex, but the memories of her stick with him like wads of gum tangled in his hair. The affection he feels for her is a bur he can’t even see let alone remove. He snaps more at both his friends and siblings, grows to hate eating out, and returns to never listening to music. His miniscule amount of sleep declines even more, and every time he sees or hears a motorcycle he wants to crawl under his blankets and never leave.

Saturday night three weeks after the disastrous prom finds Church playing Halo past midnight. Tucker wanted him to go out, but Church turns down anyone who invites him out that night. Instead he camps out in front of the Xbox in his room with a bag of chips, two cans of pop, his phone in his pocket, and headset shoved onto his head. He turns off the mic while he eats, joining random parties on multiplayer for the most part.

He’s just been killed for the third time in ten minutes when a player who has kept their mic off the whole game suddenly turns on their mic and speaks.

“Check your messages, cockbite,” their voice says, clearly using a voice changer so Church can’t make a good guess of the gender.

The player disappears from the game a second later as the other players swear and ask confused questions, but Church can only sit still for a long moment. The voice might have been unrecognizable, but there’s only person he’s ever heard use that last word.

Church nearly knocks over his pop as he scrambles out of his slouched position and quickly exits the game. There’s one message waiting for him when he goes to his home screen, a Gamertag he doesn’t know attached to it. The only thing in the message is a link for a Youtube video and Church frowns as he opens the link.

The title of the video has simply been labelled “Asshole” and no description written in the about box. The timestamp comes from an hour ago, and Church stares at the black visual of the video as the audio crackles to life.

The first iconic notes of Jet’s “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?” blare over the speakers and Church’s confusion only grows with each passing second as the purely instrumental part of the song continues. He doesn’t stop the video though, just leans forward where he sits cross-legged and stares at the still black visual.

The song reaches the point where the lyrics should start, but Tex’s voice suddenly bursts through the screen.

“One two three, here’s the ten things I hate about you,” she sings, words going slightly off the original song’s beat near the end. Her voice isn’t perfectly in key, but Church knows she’s not bad either and all the emotions tempering the sound of her voice fit with the rock n’ roll genre.

Before Church can comprehend what’s happening, the background music suddenly switches to “Paint It Black” and Tex sings about how she hates the way Church talks in place of the original lyrics. The whole video continues in that pattern, Tex using the beat of classic rock songs Church has grown to know thanks to her to sing about all the ways she hates him.

Only at the very end does she deviate, the actual lyrics and voice of Joan Jett singing,

“I hate myself for loving you.”

“Motherfucker,” Tex speaks after the music fades away, and then the video ends.   

For a long time, Church simply sits there in silence as the song and the way Tex’s voice broke just the slightest fraction on the last word echo in his mind.

Then he phones Tucker and tells him he finally knows what to do.

***

There’s a sign waiting for Tex in the parking lot when she gets out of school on Monday. York offered to drive her and Carolina home, as he has been doing for the past week. Tex has mostly forgiven the two of them after she and Carolina went through a screaming match that ended with a shocked Tex as Carolina apologized. 

But a few spots down from York’s car stands a sign with her name on it. 

The sign rests against a new motorcycle. 

Tex stops immediately and stares at the scene in front of her as other students rush by without a single glance at her still form. Gaze honed in on the vehicle, Tex steps up to the motorcycle and rests one of her hands on the leather seat. She moves her hands to the gleaming handlebars when she sees a helmet resting on one. 

“Hey.” 

Tex twists slightly at the sound of Church’s voice. He stands a foot away, hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans as he looks between her and the bike. 

“Did you buy this?” she finally manages to ask. She spares him only a cursory look, enough to tell he hasn’t been sleeping and his hair is even more of a mess than usual, and then all her attention goes back to the hulking mass of metal and black paint in front of her. 

“I had some money lying around,” he replies, voice hesitant. 

She’s tempted to tell him to not be such a wuss and bring up the subject without sounding like he’s going to run the other way. The words stop on her tongue though when she remembers their other conversations about money and what he said he needed it for. What he probably originally intended it for. 

Tex crouches down to further examine the bike instead of speaking. Not looking doesn’t keep her heart from starting to pound, nor keep the conflicting sentiments from the past three weeks from stirring in her chest. Like the way all of the different colours of paint splattered over Church and mixed into differing shades on his skin, her emotions cannot be neatly labelled and then tucked away. They demand to be heard, so loud and insistent that she got Connie to show her how to mix different songs in a movie maker and recorded her own lyrics. 

After three weeks, she knows how to sift through them all without wanting to scream. She knows which ones are the glittering diamonds she wants to keep and which are the dirt she will brush into a corner to be eventually blown away by all her other experiences and new memories. 

“Tex,” Church says, and she finally drags her gaze away from the motorcycle to look over at him. “I’m sorry.” 

He keeps looking into her eyes as she straightens and then leans on the seat of the bike. Maybe she should be more suspicious after all the lies he fed her and she can definitely feel that sentiment mixed in with the rest. But she can’t hear any insincerity in his voice, and she sees genuine sorrow in his tired eyes and pale face. 

She crosses her arms over her chest and tilts her chin up a little. 

“For?” she asks, and to his credit, he answers right away. 

“For lying to you. For using you. For a lot of things.” 

Church keeps staring at her and Tex lets her shoulders relax a little when he doesn’t try excusing or justifying any of the hurt he caused. 

“So, are you gonna buy me a bike every time you fuck up?” she asks. “Cuz I don’t think you have enough money to buy one a week.” 

“What about a CD?” he asks, and his slumped posture perks up a little. “And once a week, really?” 

“You’re not really a quick learner,” Tex replies, and she pushes herself off the motorcycle. “Tucker agrees with me.” 

“Because _Tucker’s_ such a quick learner,” Church snorts. When Tex just smirks at him, Church takes a step toward her. When she doesn’t push him away, he moves so there’s only the smallest of inches between them. “But I don’t really want to talk about Tucker right now.” 

“No?” 

“Is this–” He waves his hand in the air and gestures between the two of them. The gesture is so helpless, his inability to form coherent words so clear in his face, Tex nearly laughs outright. “Are we–everything good?” 

“Well, I _could_ just take the bike and leave you,” Tex says after a moment of consideration. She doesn’t need to fake the seriousness that enters her tone. 

“I probably deserve that,” Church admits. 

“But then who would scream like a little bitch when I drive it? Who would make my already amazing Halo abilities look like a God’s by sucking so bad?” 

“Oh I see how it is,” Church says, but his eyesscrunch in cautious happiness. “Using my love to build yourself up, I get it.” 

“Love?” she questions, and she watches his face go red. 

“It’s a concept you explain very well in that video,” he retorts, and she has to concede that one to him. 

“Well,” she says. She places her arms on his shoulders, fingers clasping together behind his neck as he keeps all his attention on her. “I guess I could use someone to bitch at in Blood Gulch.” 

He smiles slightly at that and without another word, she closes the distance between them to kiss him. No hesitation exists within Church’s response, his hands coming up to tangle in her blonde hair a second after the kiss begins. When she pulls away for a moment, he doesn’t let go. 

“If you ever try to kiss me again when I’m mad at you, I will rip your lips off,” she tells him, and the threat simply makes his grip on her tighten. 

“Yeah, I think the dick shot got that across.” 

Tex smirks, and she can feel Church’s smile when she leans in for another kiss.  

 

**Author's Note:**

> I chose Sidewinder for meta reasons and then realized that the temperatures are the complete opposite but oh well.
> 
> Songs referenced: "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" by Jet  
> "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones  
> "I Hate Myself For Loving You" by Joan Jett  
> The Lily Allen songs I'm thinking of specifically are "Hard Out Here" and of course "Fuck You"
> 
>  
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it!


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